In An Empty Field Arc 1
by The StormBorn
Summary: They had been friends and comrades for two years, but with her returning memories would everything change for the better or worse? KakashixOC small bits of NaruHina InoSai SakuGenma, Rate M for violence and later smut  ch 16 is a lemon
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Watching the steel grey and purplish clouds floating quickly overhead she sighed, hoping they would spill their heavy, wet burden soon. The recent humidity had been oppressing at best and damn near suffocating at worst, making even the toughest shinobi feel lethargic and dull.

Today had been particularly stifling. She could see some people still sitting by the turbulent river, mainly older couples and teen-aged groups of friends, the families having left for home a few hours ago. She sighed loudly again, chewing her lip pensively while glaring at the clouds.

Flopping down she removed her ninja issue boots and dangled her feet in the cool waters. Kicking occasionally, enjoying the way the water seems to shimmer in the thick air as its sprays from her feet. She thinks back, back nearly two years ago, back to that night, the one that seemed to change everything and turned her entire world upside down…

_I shall be re-editing this story. Fixing mistakes and grammatical errors as I go and generally 'cleaning'. I will also finished the epilogue and complete the story finally. A huge thanks to everyone who has faved and alerted this story._


	2. Chapter 1, Blood, Fire and Earth

Blanket Disclaimer for the entire story~ I don't own Naruto or any it's characters, I never have and never will.

**Chapter 1, Blood, Fire and Earth**

"…_hear…."_

"…_.what... I don't …"_

"…_.how the hell …survived…."_

_Suspended in warm black she listened as these foreign sounds floated to her consciousness._

_Pain blooms suddenly like a dark flower, feeling red flashes, grimacing against the sudden torment._

"…_.__**She moved!**__..."_

"_Huh? Are you sure?" That voice was definitely feminine. _

_She groaned as more of her body awoke to pain._

"_Sweet Kami, hang on, don't move! I haven't finished healing you, and I don't want these gashes to reopen."_

_She tried to open her eyes, all she could see was fuzzy white. Squinting against the hot light doesn't seem to help so closed her eyes and tried to discover what's happened through her other senses._

_Her nerves were all screaming at her, telling her that yes she _was _very severely injured, but also she can feel a cool soothing chakra… the female's? …so she might be a medic then._

_Her ears told her that they are in the forest, the noises nature makes are extremely difficult to imitate. The bark of a fox is heard some distance away, with the loud bird song that is typical of the forests of the Fire Country. She could hear the gentle noises the medic charka make, also she could hear at least two people panting._

_Her nose told her that she was very close to a battle site. The stink of blood, fire and torn earth all pointing to a recent struggle, and the stench of death told her that she was extremely lucky to still be breathing._

_Her olfactory senses started to pick up the more subtle scents of the people near her. The closest, presumably the female, has the soft aroma of flowers and the stronger tang of fruit, cherries she realised. Next she can pick up the deep smell of ink and warm scent of ramen 'How odd' she mused._

_The woman's chakra had finished healing her chest and ribs and was moving down to her abdomen. She could take a deeper breath finally and caught another scent, though it's more subtle then the others. This one is distinctly male, musky and spicy at the same time. And a final one, one she nearly missed. This one she could only describe as smelling like 'the forest' as it was similar to pines and leaf mulch but ever so slightly different from the forest smells surrounding them._

"_Taichou….. Sensei…. Can you carefully turn her so I can get to the gashes on her back. I need them closed so we can move her."_

"_Sakura, are you sure it's a good idea healing her and taking her with us? We don't know anything about her, for all we know it's a set up." This voice was male, deep and sonorous, with little or no emotion._

_Sakura sighed "I understand your reservations Sensei. If it makes you feel better I will personally stay with her the whole time, and I will take responsibility from Tsunade-shishou. I can't just leave her here, also she hasn't shown us anything to say she is our enemy, she..."_

"_Neither has she shown us that we can trust her." Sakura was interrupted by her sensei "I know that you feel compassion for her. But I have to look at this from all angles even the more unpleasant __ones, because that's what has helped us all survive this long. I HAVE to be the tough one, as much as you may hate it that's the way it is." He sighed "I know your not gonna back down, so how about if I carry her back you can keep watch on her. And if she shows signs of coming awake fully I want you to use a sleeping jutsu instantly, Do I make myself clear?"_

"_Hai sensei."_

_She felt two sets of hands on her arms and side, wincing as the pain flared up to a burning heat. She could feel the edges of her consciousness start to fray as the hands inexorably start to pull her gently over to her side and down onto her stomach. She felt the cooling sensation of the healing chakra again but she was too far gone in her pain again to cling to her awareness._

_She was floating, suspended in the warm black, as comforting as a mothers embrace._

With a deep sigh she leaned back into her hands, relishing the silken feeling of the cold river water against her hot flesh.

It had gotten much darker since she first entered her reverie. Why is her mind dragging up THAT particular memory? It's much too close to the darkest memories in the recesses of her mind, the blank spots where even she couldn't recall the memories.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she stood, picking up her boots she headed back into town as the first heavy fat drop explodes on the parched ground.

_Preview chapter 2_

_Naruto waving like an idiot, Sakura gave her ex sensei a huge grin, Kurenai gave him a small smile and a wave, Anko was too busy doing things to the sleeping Inuzuka. _

**A/N** The story is set about 2 years after Pein's invasion but the flashback is between the invasion and the 5 Kage summit. I've tried to not include any spoilers without detracting from the Narutoverse. This is my first Fan Fic so please be gentle, though I do appreciate constructive crits. Although this IS a romance fic featuring Kakashi, the first few chapters are to show the OC that I've introduced, don't worry there IS goodies coming up. plus I'm sure you guys wouldn't want Kakashi to like a one dimensional character now would you?

A huge thanks to my Beta Reader Againstnormal (Go check her fics. Seriously. Right now. You can find her in my fav authors section), my faithful first fan Pazzesca Femmina (big love to you Aneechan) and my second proof reader who started helping me halfway through this fic, Bryan Davison. Hope everyone else enjoys reading as much as I did writing.


	3. Chapter 2, Shochu and Umeshu

**A/N A huge thanks to everyone who has been reading till now. Again massive thanks to my beta reader Agasintnormal, you spotted things that would bug me in someone else story and helped me correct them, and to my Neechan Pazzesca, without her my stories punctuation would be so awful it would hurt your eyes to read.**

**If you liked or disliked anything please let me know (I wont take it badly if you didn't like something, I am trying to improve though so all opinions are appreciated.)**

**Disclaimer~I don't own Naruto nor any of it's character, that was just a delightful wet dream.**

**Chapter 2, Friends and Celebrations**

Amaya picked up her pace as the heavens opened. Soaking her hair flat in a matter of seconds. She started running for shelter as the deluge began. Panting slightly, she stood in a sheltered doorway watching as the skies relieved themselves of the pressure that had been days in building. She spotted a distinct pink haired jounin across the road from her. Running quickly from doorway to doorway trying to stay out the rain. Amaya gave her younger friend a small wave when she spotted her watching.

"Sakura-san, where are you going in such a hurry? It's not like you to be out the hospital when there are this many people needing your expertise."

The recent weather meant the hospital was always full with civilians and shinobi suffering from the prolonged oppressive heat wave.

"Ne Amaya-san? Have you not heard about Naruto's promotion? We are all going to meet up for drinks to celebrate. You are more then welcome to join us and I know that Naruto especially would be very happy to see you." Sakura gave her a grin as she grabbed the older woman's wrist and dragged her into the dark bar. The smell of warms bodies and alcohol assaulted her senses as soon as the walked through the door. Several heads swiveled to take in the two kunouchis as they entered. Some glared, suspicion apparent in their stares, but once they deemed no immediate threat they turned back to their drinks. The others radiated sexual interest and their gazes lingered much longer. Spotting Naruto in the busy bar was not hard, as he was the loudest person Amaya had ever known. Bouncing up as soon as he spotted the rosette medic-nin, he grinned and waved them over. Amaya was still shocked by the young mans apparent fetish for bright colours.

"Konbanwa Sakura-chan, Amaya-chan. Can I get either of you girls something to drink?"

He pulled Sakura into a quick embrace, chuckling as he rubbed the spot on his head where Sakura gently punched him

"What was that for Sakura-chan?" he pouted.

"Just watch your hands next time Naruto, I don't care how drunk you are."

she smiled warmly at him to take the harsh edge off her words.

"I hear congratulations are in order Naruto-_sama_."

Amaya smiled at the kuuybi container. Remembered the amount he had changed in the short time she had known him. He had matured greatly in the last two years not so much a mature teenager but now truly a conscientious young man. Though with a drink or two in him it was hard to see the maturity peeking through. Naruto flashed her his trade mark grin.

"No need for the honorific. I'm sure Tsunade Baa-chan will convince the elders to let you try out for ANBU as well soon. After all they have already let you test for the genin, chuunin and jounin ranks and you passed them all easily."

Naruto nodded convinced

"I _know_ that they will want you to try out soon, you would be an asset to the village."

Amaya smiled sadly.

"Naruto, I'm flattered you think so highly of me."

she held up a hand to stop him from interrupting.

"But you have to remember the circumstances that I arrived here. It will be hard for me to gain the trust of the elders, especially with what's been happening recently. I fully except my lot right now, I'm actually happy to have some where I _can _call home. But tonight is not about me, we are here because you made it into ANBU. So here is to your good health!"

She raised the small glass to honor Naruto, and Sakura followed the gesture.

"To Naruto." they chorused before drowning the liquid fire.

Spluttering slightly Sakura turned to Naruto "What the HELL did you buy us?"

Naruto looked a bit sheepishly and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Maa maa Sakura-chan! You took so long to get here I decided to 'assist' you in catching up a little."

He grinned wolfishly at the shocked look on her face, laughing at his antics. Sakura called the bartender and asked for the same again.

"OK Naruto I will let you off this time. Hey where's Kaka-sensei and Sai?"

She peered around the bar looking for the silver haired shinobi and the dark haired artist.

"Kaka-sensei hasn't arrived yet,"

They both rolled their eyes at this

"But Sai just um... Ahem well… He will be back in a moment."

Naruto flushed a little bit, suddenly a screech could be heard over the general noise in the bar.

"**Forehead, it took you long enough to get here**."

The blonde came strutting up to the trio dragging a slightly disheveled looking Sai, realization hit Sakura when she saw Sai. Knowing exactly why Naruto had looked uncomfortable before. She flushed pink before smirking evilly, in a saccharine sweet voice,

"Konbanwa Ino-buta, or should I just call you Inu from now on, seeing as your acting like a bitch in heat anyway."

she smiled sweetly at the look of pure rage in her best friend/best enemies eyes. Amaya couldn't blame Sakura for being so rough with Ino at times now. Just over a year ago rumors started going around that Sasuke would of stayed if Sakura hadn't been stalking him. It was quickly discovered that Ino had been behind the rumors, once Ino had gotten over her own infatuation with the Uchiha she had set her sights on Kotetsu, only to find out he had a thing for Sakura after she threw herself at him in a bar and was rejected quite publicly. She started to notice guys 'noticing' her pink haired friend quite often after that, Sakura for her part remained oblivious to the mae attention, and started to feel the touch of envy for her best friend. Sakura was upset when she found out, and even though Ino tried her best to make it up to her the damage had been done. Normally she would be perfectly civil to Ino but the forehead jibe combined with the drink meant that Sakura was caring less about her feelings. Sai sighed and glanced between the two women and moved to sit down.

"Ah Amaya-sama, how nice to see you, lovely weather we are having aren't we?"

Amaya giggled at Sai's attempts at social courtesy. He out of all of team Kakashi had probably grown the most, but there were still some subtleties that he had a hard time grasping, sarcasm being one, and small talk being another though he was trying.

"Dou shiteru Sai-san?" she smiled warmly at the pale young man and offered him a drink.

"Yo, Naruto!"

Their heads turned to see Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Huuyga Hinata walking through the bar towards them. Naruto jumped up and sauntered over to them, wrapping an arm around Hinata's waist he planted a wet kiss on her cheek and whispered something in her ear. It was amusing to watch her flush red so quickly only to see the sly look she flashed him from below her lashes, Huuyga Hinata _may_ look and act like the proper clan heir she was, but then you would catch glimpses and realize she wasn't as pure as she first looked. Kiba walked straight over and draped an arm round Sakura and Amaya's shoulders.

"So ladies, what are you drinking? Next rounds on me."

He gave them both a fanged grin. Sakura just shook her head at him bemused.

"Let's move to a table so everyone can sit down?" Amaya suggested.

So they all went towards on of the bigger tables at the back of the bar. Shino and Sai discussing the merits of using bugs as spies versus ink rats, Ino sitting on Sai's lap trailing her fingers along the back of his neck while speaking to Sakura about some of the newer medical techniques she had learned and asking her advice, Naruto had dragged Hinata to the chairs furthest from the door, whispering and looking delighted as she gigged at him, which left Amaya talking to Kiba.

Ino leaned over "Amaya-san, I expect you to not get too drunk tonight."

"Hmm? Why not?"

"Did Hokage-sama not tell you? We are supposed to be trying to help you recover your memories."

Amaya stiffened at what the young Yamanka girl was telling her, basically her or someone from her clan would be delving through her mind. Trying to pull out fragments of her shattered past that her subconscious decided to bury.

Sighing she replied "Hai, Ino-san, do you know who will be having the honor of picking my brain?"

"I'm sorry I don't know yet, is there anyone that you would prefer?"

knocking back her drink she grimaced, "no, I haven't really socialized with your clan Ino-san just as long as who ever does it has the discretion to not tell the entire village my inner most thoughts and secrets."

She smiled weakly at the young blonde bombshell, before wandering off to get a drink. After depositing a foamy pink concoction in front of Sakura she leaned back in her own chair turning to the dog nin to her right, taking a sip of the amber liquor she brought.

"So Inuzuka, I heard you just got off an A rank mission, I was quite impressed! You're getting injured less and less now."

Kiba smirked, "Well me and Akamaru have been training a _lot_ recently, have you been checking up on me? Liking what you see ne?"

Amaya snorted "Kiba while I _will_ admit that you have grown up into a man you know me well enough now to know that I would never go near you or anyone else in that way, I have friends and that's as close as I want to get."

"I know Amaya-chan but you can blame a guy for trying."

He ran his fingers through her black hair, grabbing the white lock in front of her eyes and giving it a gentle tug. Her malachite eyes widening at his temerity.

"you know I'm playing with you, but if you ever **do** need to scratch that itch you know where I am."

He waggled his eyebrows making Amaya laugh loudly.

"C'mon dog boy, I think you need to buy me a drink."

***

As darkness began its soft descent as the torrential rain outside let up, the crowd in the bar slowly changed from the younger shinobi to the more hard core battle scarred ninjas with habitual drinking problems. The life of a ninja was never easy, from early in childhood these men and women were trained in techniques designed to take life usually in the most brutal ways. Most shinobi were blooded by the time they were 13 years old. Sure there seemed to a an almost mythological presences about these people that most civilians seemed to sense, most women fantasized about the 'strong ninja' a man who can kill but with the same time bring immense pleasures, and most men would look at the kunouchis and not see a murderess but see a strong flexible woman who is trained in seduction and sexual techniques, as well as that toned bodies these men and women have. In short the civilians managed to blind themselves against the true brutality of their protectors lives, one which delved into the darkest recesses of human kind. The general noise in the bar had simmered down now as the younger more excitable patrons left for home once they reached their limits for the night, the older more experienced ones choosing this time to sit in silence, and drink their thoughts away.

Ino and Sai had left about an hour ago. Ino dragging the pale man away with a wicked glint in her eyes that promised that Sai would be finding it difficult to walk the next day. Shino had bid everyone farewell not long after they had vacated the bar, a slight stumble the only evidence that the bug user was actually quite drunk. Naruto and Hinata were sharing a drink, giving gentle butterfly kisses, shy glances and soft whispers that would cause the other to look in mock shock before grinning and trying to out do what had been said. Yuhi Kurenai and Mitarashi Anko had come into the bar, sitting next to Amaya and Sakura, Kurenai and Sakura were discussing the merits of different genjutsus. Anko making dirty suggestions about with Amaya could do with Kiba. The aforementioned dog nin had drank a little too much a little too fast and was snoring slightly with his head in Amaya's lap. He had fallen asleep on the table and Amaya taking pity on him as the table was sticky with spilt drinks, she had moved his head and got Sakura to lift his feet up so he was a bit more comfortable. She planned on getting him home with the help of his former sensei Kurenai.

She sighed, Anko's voice started coming back to her attention.

"Did you hear what I was saying?" she said with a leer.

"Hmmm? Oh sorry my attention drifted off there, what were you saying Anko-chan."

"I _said_, you do realize that with his head down there his face is gonna stink of your *ahem* personal scent, Well I say _stink_ but only to another Inuzuka. You do realize they have a much more sensitive sense of smell then us right?"

She seems to take perverse pleasure in the idea that Kiba may or may not smell of her sex.

"I mean come _on_, the guy still lives with his family in the clan holdings. His mother and NeeChan will be home and you are gonna drag him home with his face stinking of your…"

"Would you like another drink Anko-chan?" Amaya quickly interrupted what the snake user was about to say.

"No I'm OK for now." she grinned ferally at her again.

Amaya gently placed Kiba's head down on her chair and carefully picked her way over to the bar, leaning on the hard wood top with her chin resting in her hands she waited for the bar man to notice her.

"A strawberry daiquiri and umeshu please."

She stared at her reflection in the mirror behind the bar.

Black hair with its distinct white streak hanging over one eye. Her wide eyes like malachite with bands of dark and lighter green. Black eyebrows straight like decisive brushstrokes peeked out below her hair. The bottom half of her face covered in bandages. Her instincts had told her to hide her face away, especially after the strange looks she was getting from the other shinobi who knew she was new,plus she liked the anonymity it afforded her, it made her feel almost invisible.

She didn't have a Hitae-ate yet as the elders hadn't fully accepted her as a leaf shinobi yet. She glanced down her image in the mirror. Taking in slender shoulders, her dark red top with its funnel gave her a lot of freedom of movement, the sanguine top was sleeveless and stopped at her sternum, the black mesh under top she wore had one sleeve to her elbow the other stopped just past her shoulder. The mesh stopped under her ribs, a pair of black stretch shorts coming to above her knees, and a sanguine skirt about an inch shorter then the shorts with splits up both sides all the way to her waist band. Plus the usual ninja gear. She recognized herself right now, but she couldn't remember what she looked like as a child, a teenager even. She sighed and looked away as the bartender placed her drinks in front if her. As she went to hand the money to the bartender large calloused hand covers hers, stopping her,

"Bring the rest of the bottle of umeshu, and a bottle of shochu with another glass please."

She reconised his smell before she turned her head, that warm musk she remembered so well, turning to face him she smiled her thanks.

"Konbanwa Kakashi, I take it your late as usual?" she grinned under her bandages, trying to read the emotions in his one eye.

"Hmm? Well you see I _was_ going to be on time except I found this kitty cat that was stuck and with the heavy rain I had to take it home feed it and dry it, then I needed to shower again as I had gotten muddy from catching the cat and …"

"Enough." she held her hands up in supplication. *I'm sure Naruto and Sakura will just be happy to see you. Sai has went home though, but I don't think he will mind too much considering what he is up to."

Kakashi turned and gave her a eye crinkle that signified a smile in his books.

"I suppose I should arrange some team training soon, its been months since we all trained together. Even Yamato has been out of town and busy."

He looked thoughtful "Actually I was going to ask you…"

He was interrupted by Naruto shouting "OY! Kaka-sensei! Over here."

Everyone on the table turned and stared at them. Naruto waving like an idiot, Sakura gave her ex sensei a huge grin, Kurenai gave him a small smile and a wave, Anko was too busy doing things to the sleeping Inuzuka.

"Come on we better get over there Kakashi-san, ANKO! Stop doing that to Kiba this instance."

The violet-haired snake-charmer just chuckled darkly glancing up at Amaya through her lashes before sitting up quickly and trying to appear innocent. Shaking her head Amaya handed Sakura her daiquiri and placing her glass on the table. She carefully lifted Kiba's head from her chair again and laid it on her lap. Kakashi raised a lone silver eyebrow at this.

"I didn't realize you and Kiba were… you know…."

"We're not! He fell asleep and rather then leave him face down in spilt beer, I thought I would actually be nice to him for a change." she sighed

"Me and Kurenai will be taking him home later. His mother and nee-chan can deal with him once he is there." she grinned evilly at Kakashi.

"You do know that his mother and sister are going to go nuts?"

"Well that's not my problem. Though from seeing what Anko has been doing I'm glad It's Kurenai coming to help. I hate to think what that little sadist would do to the poor boy."

She snorted with laughter. Leaning back, she watched her friend's converse with each other, their laughter easy on the ears. She wished she could have the casual comradeship they displayed to each other. Taking a sip of her deep plum whiskey she sighs as it burned a path to her stomach, clearing dark thoughts with it.

Tomorrow would be here too soon, bringing with it all the pain that she was going to have from being forced to dredge up memories her body and mind had tried to desperately forget.


	4. Chapter 3, Memories

**A/N as always a huge thanks to my Beta reader, Againstnormal, thanks for putting up with my god AWFUL spelling and punctuation. Thanks to Pazzy for reading my revised chapters and fixing said punctuation and spelling mistakes.**

**A massive thank you to everyone reading this, I've decided to post two chapters tonight you lucky people. Otherwise I will add a new chapter once a week.**

**A warning**** before we start, this chapter contains violent scenes and a rape. if you feel that you don't want to read that message me and I will send you a copy of a revised chapter with the nasty bit cut out.**

**~Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto nor any of its characters. Otherwise Kakashi would have learnt 'come to heel' by now**

**Chapter 3 Memories**

_The smell of smoke and burning flesh fill her nostrils, the screams of the dying rend the air, so much pain and despair and yet they still keep coming._

_She fights faceless man after faceless man, as soon as one is down another one replaces him, in a never ending line of violence._

_She cries out people's names, screaming at them to get away. Run; get as far away from the village as they can. She knew she wouldn't survive this night but she would protect them with everything she had. If she has to die she would make damn sure she would take out as many of the attackers as she could._

_A rhythmic thumping was heard at the edge of the hearing._

_Thump, thump, thump, she spun and the back of her fist connected with a jaw, bone crunched beneath flesh, teeth shattered. The enemy flew back to land in a crumpled mess against a tree._

_Thump, thump, thump, another took his place. Continuing the motion she let her movement drag her right foot around in a lightening quick roundhouse kick, a loud snap, eyes go blank as a head flops, neck snapped._

_Thump, thump, thump, there are too many, a warm coppery taste floods her mouth and throat as one gets a lucky hit. Jaw aching her knee connects with soft tissue of the attacker in front, stars appear as another connects with her temple._

……Amaya-san……

_Thump, thump, thump, she shakes her head, the feeling of hands grasping her from behind, stopping her from moving._

……Amaya?.....

_Thump, thump, thump, letting loose a feral snarl, relishing the feeling of bones breaking, blood squirting a red mist into the air. The screams of the ones she has maimed music in her ears, she grins her face covered in someone else's blood, knowing how it must look from the terror etched on her attackers face._

…**..Amaya!!!!....**

**Thump, thump, thump,**

Amaya jerked upright breathing hard, feeling her jaw to confirm that it wasn't dislocated or broken. Just a dream she sighs to herself. Someone is banging on her door. Dragging herself out of bed, she makes it to her front door and pulls it open to reveal Ino standing there, hands on her hips looking very annoyed.

"You're lucky, I was just about to call Genma to get him to break in and make sure you were OK."

The diminutive blonde smirked evilly, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind one bit having to wake you up, after all it would mean he gets into your bedroom."

"Hai hai Ino-san! I get it. I'm sorry I stayed a little longer then I should of at the bar last night."

She pushed the heel of her hand into her eyes trying to relieve some of the pressure that was building, while gesturing with her other hand for Ino to enter. Walking to the bathroom she called "Would you like some coffee? Help yourself."

"Iie Amaya-san, we don't have time, we should have arrived at the ANBU headquarters by now."

Amaya popped her head into the front room, toothbrush hanging out her mouth, foam making her look slightly rabid,

"Huh? Why are we going to ANBU?"

Ino sighs and fixes her older friend with a baleful glance. "You can't remember what I said last night? We are going to be delving into that mess you call a mind and see if we can pull together some of your memories from before you were found."

Amaya gulped, scratching the back of her head nervously she laughed "Ha ha, oh yeah, I forgot about that. OK give me 5 minutes to get washed and dressed."

Turning the shower on full she removes the bandages covering her face before stepping in. Hissing until the temperature settled into something easier to handle. Running her hands through her hair she tried to recall some of her dream, but already the details have faded. She remembers fighting and blood and pain, but she can't remember anyone's face, or any of the names she was calling out. Sighing she washes soap off her body hands running over faded scars, some she remembers gaining most she doesn't. She quickly steps out the shower, towels dries and heads into her bed room. After wrapping clean bandages around her face and neck and some round her ankles and feet, she grabs her usual attire of black mesh and sanguine cloth. She pulls them all on quickly before heading into the front room.

Ino was lounging on her sofa flicking through one of Amaya's books she has found on the coffee table

"You not gonna have breakfast Amaya?"

"Iie I thought you said we were late already?"

"Hai we are, well come on then, I'm sure you want this over and done with as soon as possible."

Amaya grabbed an apple from a bowl in the middle of the coffee table before closing the front door behind her with a resounding click.

***

They reached the non descript ANBU building. The beautiful early morning weather seemed to almost mock Amaya as she stared up at the innocuous building, looking for all the world like a 'normal' block of offices, knowing that just inside she was going to have someone plowing through her brain plucking and inspecting her very psyche. Not for the first time that morning she felt a cold shiver travel down her spine.

"Amaya-san. Are you OK?" Ino scanned her with a medic's eye to determine if she was in good health.

"Hai Ino-chan, I am just nervous. How many times have you done this procedure by the way?"

Ino stiffened slightly "Erm, I'm not, um I mean I haven't…"

"What she is trying to say is she isn't the one doing this procedure." a powerful female voice said behind Amaya. She jumped at the unexpected answer.

"W-w-what do you mean? If Ino's not doing it then who is?"

"I am." said a deep baritone. Whirling Amaya stared into aquamarine orbs. From the blonde hair, and eyes Amaya realized he was related to the gossip queen, unlike the blonde kunoichi though his eyes were as cold and hard as the precious stone. "My name is Yamanaka Isamu, I will be the one helping you recover your memories, Ino-san will be assisting as she will need to learn this technique soon."

"Hokage-sama can I speak to you first." Tsunade nodded in acquiescence,

"Do I really have to do this? I mean I am happy with who I am now, what if I find out I'm sadistic, or evil or a spy?"

"Unfortunately the elders have been put off as long as I could. I can't stall them anymore, they insist this is for the village's safety; I really am sorry Amaya-san. If it was just down to me I would have started sending you out on real missions as a leaf shinobi months ago."

As it is the Elders have allowed you to take the chuunin and jounin exams but that's only because they couldn't deny your strength as a ninja. You are easily at elite jounin level, but until we can confirm you're not a danger to the village, you will only be getting the lower missions. Plus the elders refuse to let you in any teams, you would always be alone, getting sent out on solo missions. But your particular ninja skills would be far more effective in team missions especially where trackers are needed."

Amaya frowned.

"So the only reason you're pursuing this is so you can use me?"

"No, that's not the only reason. It would mean that once we have done this and determined you to not be a threat to security, we could accept you fully as a Shinobi of the hidden leaf, unless you were a missing nin from one of our allies or branch villages. You would also receive all benefits fitting for someone of your standing. I have a list of apartments to let and buy in my desk for when you are accepted. You would receive your Hitae-ate. You would be able to pick your missions with more discretion unless you decide to choose an ANBU career, and if you decided to start a family after three generations are born here, your family can apply for clan status. You would also be fully accepted as a member of our community, and I could get the elders to remove that ANBU guard they have tailing you."

Amaya sighed and looked skyward, "I suppose since you got up early especially to see me I should at least go through with this."

Tsunade smiled and took the younger woman by the arm, "Don't worry, Isamu-sama isn't as hard headed as he seems, plus after we are finished here me and you could go for a drink. I'm sure Shizune won't mind if I take the day off to help 'settle' you after such an unnerving experience." Her amber eyes winked conspiratorially to malachite ones.

"Don't worry," Ino chirruped. "Uncle Isamu is very good at what he does."

They walked from the warm morning sunshine into the cold deathly quiet building before them, a feeling of dread settled over the quartet.

***

After many twists and turns Amaya was sitting in a cold bare room. A light overhead, buzzing and flickering occasionally. A stainless steel table currently held some files, probably detailing herself and all her hospital excursions plus any psyche evaluations she had. The concrete floor was painted a bright red, which was peeling. Dark stains on the walls made Amaya shudder with revulsion as she recognized them for what they were. She herself was sitting in a wooden chair that had seen better days, it was low backed and quite uncomfortable. The door screaming open on hinges that needed desperately oiled dragged her attention away from the creeping dread she was feeling at being sat alone in a room, that could only be called an interrogation room loosely, the term torture would have been more accurate.

Imasu walked in with Ino trotting closely at his heels. Amaya took a sharp intake of breath at the serious look on the young kunoichi's face.

Isamu gave a tight little smile, which was probably intended to help the dark haired woman relax. It just made her nervous as it looked more like a grimace then a smile.

"OK let's get started shall we?" Isamu's gravelly voice seemed slightly unsure of itself. In truth he had never use this jutsu other than to extract information from enemy nins. To do this on potentially a Konoha nin made him feel a little ill, not that he would let that show.

A speaker crackled into life, Tsunade's voice sounding loud in the small room bounced around the walls.

"Are you OK Amaya? Remember this will be much easier if you relax, we can give you a mild sedative if you like."

Amaya glanced around looked at Ino who nodded her head up towards an observatory area that Amaya's initial perusal had overlooked. Tsunade was standing there watching her through filthy glass, looking almost as nervous as she felt. Amaya nodded her head and smiled gratefully though it would have lost its effect through her bandages. Ino moved forward a syringe in hand,

"I hope you are going to be gentle, nurse Ino" Amaya tried to joke, badly.

Ino just smiled before swabbing clean a patch of thigh that wasn't too scarred. Amaya stopped her body from wriggling at the stinging sensation of the pale yellow liquid that was pushed into her veins. Almost immediately she could feel the effects. Her shoulders dropped down, her jaw and fists unclenched, "I didn't realise I was so tense." she thought to herself, thoughts slightly muzzy as a warmth spread through her body making her smile a little.

Isamu dragged over an identical wooden chair and sat down in front of the grinning woman, their knees so close she swore she could feel his body heat.

"Ino I want you to take notes of what I am actually doing, but I also want you to take notes of what Amaya-chan says during this, as she may or may not remember everything so having any sort of triggers like key words could help her regain other memories."

"Hai Isamu Ojisama."

Ino nodded and sat down next to the stainless steel table, picked up a note pad and a pen and watched carefully.

"OK I will be describing what I am doing, so you know what's going on and also so Ino knows what to do herself. Amaya-San I want you to focus on my eyes or mouth, it will help in the long run. When you're not concentrating and nervous your thoughts will be jumping around the place and the electrical energy in your brain will be counterproductive. If that happens we will have to do more sessions. I will try and be as gentle as I can, if you feel any pain please let me know. Finally, I need you to tell me what you are feeling and thinking if prompted, anything will do. Some things will give you only a feeling, or colour smells, that sort of thing, please tell us right away. If you have visual memories even though I can see them and I may experience some, tell us if there is anything associated with that memory that may not be apparent."

Amaya closed her eyes, took a deep breath, nodded. She opened her eyes to focus strongly on his aquamarine ones. He carefully placed his large hands palm down across her skull, molding them to take the shape of her.

"OK I will now start to carefully build up chakra in my palms, once I have gathered enough I will slowly allow it to seep into Amaya here." Isamu spoke softly; Ino scratched something on her pad.

Amaya could feel a strange coldness; it was unnerving but not uncomfortable. It spread down from the crown of her head around her ear canals and down her brow.

"I have surrounded most of her brain with my charka, I will now start to probe with my chakra, kind of how you do it when you are checking a patient and seeing what's wrong with them. I am now making my way to the hippocampus which is one of the main elements to dealing with long term memory, Amaya-chan how are you holding up?"

"I-I-I'm um I'm doing OK arigato Isamu-san." She felt strange. She could feel his chakra, it was almost like someone was poking her somewhere that had been numbed with anesthetic, you could feel the poke but couldn't at the same time.

"Now Amaya-chan, I want you to try and think of a memory for me. Try and think of one that happened a while back, so I can follow the pathway back to where that memory was stored. Ino I am now in the hippocampus. To view or feel the memories I will have to find and pull what I can find through this area. It's almost like pulling film through a projector, the memory is useless without the hippocampus and vice versa."

Amaya tried to think of a memory, apart from the night she was found. The next one she remembered that was truly pleasant was when she first moved into her small forest hut.

She smiled as she remembered the smell of the trees and the sense of peace.

"Good Amaya, keep a hold of that memory of the smell." She felt a cold prickle and suddenly the memory blossomed.

_She inhaled deeply, the smell of birch and oak soothing her frayed edges, listening to the noises of the forest birds, insects and animals going about their daily lives. She shifted the heavy bag in her arms, this was her home, she felt she could be happy here, she wasn't sure why but she felt light almost weightless, like she had been under extreme pressure...._

"Very good Amaya you're doing really well." Isamu's voice broke through.

She whispered "Oh Kami! It was like I was there again, before i could only remember the sense of peace and the smell of the trees, I didn't realize my brain had stored everything."

"We aren't finished with that memory yet, I could feel what you felt. It's strange that you felt a relief from pressure; as far as I am aware you weren't on active duty and had no pressure. I want you to focus on your feelings, try and follow them. I will assist by pulling at that thread as well. Most of your memories are connected to each other, we just have to find the memories that relate to your past and hopefully with one the rest will come themselves." Imasu gave her a genuine smile this time, happy that she was relaxing properly now. This should make it much easier but he knew it would get harder. She was a shinobi and judging by the scars on her arms and shoulders she had lived a rough life.

_The birds singing and insects chirping, the all pervading sense of pressure being lifted, her subconscious thoughts floated to the surface "I did everything I could for them, there is nothing more I can do now, I just hope my sacrifices weren't for nothing" she felt her conscious prick her with its sense of duty._

Wait! Duty? Before she could turn that into a coherent thought she felt the cold chakra sting pulling at her sense of duty.

_She was standing on top of a tall building. Watching the small village below waking up, everything looked peaceful. Most the houses thatched with green straw which would turn to golden brown come summer. The spring buds on the bare trees, with flashes of pink cherry blossom, against the wooden walls of the sleepy village. She felt sad, alone, she felt like someone was missing, someone who should of been there standing beside her, with his hand on her head as he smiled down at her with love and warmth. "Otou-san?" tears sprang up in her eyes as she remembered her father's death, her mother having succumbed to death's cold grasp years ago, what did her mother look like?_

Another cold prickle and the vision seemed to blur, when it refocused.

_A beautiful dark haired woman smiled down at her. "Well Maya-chan what are we going to cook for your father? He will be finished the village business soon so he will be very hungry."_

_She took Amaya's small chubby hand in her own calloused one and led her small daughter to the kitchen larder. Amaya looked up at her mother in awe, this strong beautiful clever woman was her mother._

Amaya burst into tears, "O-O-Okaa-san, I-I'm so sorry I couldn't save you" she sobbed.

She heard Isamu speaking quietly to her, apologizing for having to do this. She shook her head, "No don't say sorry, this is a wonderful gift! I couldn't remember my mother before, now I can remember everything about her, from her mannerisms and the way she used to sing as she cooked to the way she smelled" she sniffed "Really, this is wonderful."

Isamu sighed and smiled, "I'm glad these are happy memories and so far I can't see anything that would say you're a spy or traitor, if anything you are a ninja trained in a small village, probably on the outskirts of the fire country from the looks of the scenery. We do however have to look a bit more; for one thing I haven't seen you training. But the first memory you were already training to be a powerful kunoichi and one of the most important ones too though. I don't know how they rank the ninja in your village, have you got any new memories coming to you alone now?"

Amaya shook her head, and breathed deeply, releasing tension she didn't realize she had been holding.

"Let's continue" she said with a determined light in her eyes.

_Cold prickles pulled at her memories of her village, she saw faces, houses, children playing, a river flowing into a clear lake, the paper lanterns for festivals, they all blurred together like a motion picture sped up suddenly._

_Fire, death, screams. Was this a dream? Looking out her window she saw them, darks shadows jumping, and setting fire to the thatched roofs of her quaint village._

_Rage filled her till she shook, leaping out the window to meet the enemy nins._

_Bones crunching, blood spurting, maimed, injured, dying shinobi screaming and gasping in a circle of death around her as she threw jutsu after jutsu towards them. Her vision blurring as her chakra levels dropped. She was aware of the other nins of the village fighting besides her and felt a swell of pride. They may not be big but they were strong. Knowing the village's history of being attacked by Iwa-nins regularly, hence the village elders decision to copy cat Great Konoha and have resident ninja's rather than hire them, because the hired nins usually arrived too late after the fights. But there were too many of the enemies, so she and her fellow loyal shinobi were fighting 4-5 nins each. Suddenly she was only fighting one; out the corner of her eye she spotted a couple Iwa-nins dragging some of the young civilian girls. She __recognised__ one instantly, she was only 4 years old. Screaming at the villagers to get away, to run, get away, she turned to the shinobi beside her._

"_Fuyu-kun, pull back now, get to the villagers pull every able shinobi and run with them do _not _let Iwa take a single person. I will go and get Mezumi and the other girls. I will send them to you."_

_The ninja named Fuyu turned towards Amaya's voice. Frowning slightly, Amaya knew he was about to argue._

"_Please Fuyu-kun, it's the only way. Once I've freed the girls I will hold them off as long as possible to give you all a chance to escape."_

_Fuyu nodded to say he understood. Both the ninjas dashed off in different directions. She could hear Fuyu's deep timbre conveying her orders to the other shinobi, and gave a grim smile. I have to find those girls. Pushing chakra into her senses she could almost see the stink of fear the girls were releasing. She followed the trail swiftly, leaving the battle ground behind her._

_Through the trees, she suddenly heard a cry, and a snarl from a male. Running into the clearing she was horrified at what she saw. A large group of male ninja has three small girls, and a group of women and young girls chained to a tree._

_The stench of blood and burning flesh fills her nose making her want to retch. One brute has a girl over his lap and is about to brand her buttocks. The child is desperately trying to twist away from the searing heat of the iron in her captor's hand, with a roar she leaps at the men._

_Spinning she feels the flesh of her hand connect with a jaw, bones crunching, flesh rending. Teeth shattered the faceless male flies into a tree and slumps there._

_She is a blur of black and red, blood and steel. She spins and kicks, twirls, punches, stabs, and feints. She is getting slow as her body starts to shut down. She sends a jutsu at the chain holding the females together; they turn their dead cattle eyes towards her bloody form, no chakra left now, relying on taijutsu and pure instinct, picking up non fatal wounds along the way._

_Screaming at the females to run, run away, get as far away as they can. Slowly life returns to their eyes as they realize they are free and they run, hard, dragging the village girls with them._

_Now the captives are pretty much safe Amaya can relax a little. She takes a wound to her shoulder. Twirling she throws a kunai which lodges itself in the assailants throat. Another deep wound to her thigh slows her so much that she can't get away quick enough and is punched hard. Stars burst in front of her, blood explodes in her mouth. She feels hands grabbing and hitting her. There is blood in her eyes and she knows she will die soon, strangely that thought is comforting. Then she realizes the hitting has stopped._

_Hanging between two pairs of hands that are stopping her from meeting the ground, the silence is so sudden she thinks she has gone deaf, until she hears chuckling._

"_Well, well, well, what do we have here? Seems I have lost my new merchandise, but from the looks of it I have bagged an even better prize, a kunoichi if I'm not mistaken."_

_Amaya blinks hard trying to get the blood out of her eyes. She can barely see but she can make out a tall figure in front of her, she blinks a few times again._

"_Someone wipe her face, I want to see what she looks like and I'm sure she is interested in me as well."_

_The men surrounding her laughed at that commend. Someone roughly wiped the blood from her eyes causing her to hiss in pain as they scrubbed the open gash across her brow._

"_Oh my! There is such fire in those eyes, such passion. It looks like this one will die before she breaks boys." The man in front of her grinned and moved closer. He was tall, at least a foot taller then she, with long very pale strawberry blonde hair that was tied at the base of his neck into a long queue. Black form fitting sleeveless shirt, with tight black pants and boots made up his attire. But the most striking feature was his eyes. It was like looking into mercury, a liquid black almost silver. It was hard to hold his pupiless gaze; it felt like you were drowning from looking too long._

_He laughed, "What? No compliment for me? Well no matter, you may have spoiled my plans for now but I can guarantee that you haven't stopped me for good." He smirked at this knowledge._

"_Well now boys how about we make our guest more comfortable, I am going to check on the camp preparations, I will be back soon." he sauntered off as she felt the cold grip of steel on her wrists. She had almost forgotten about the other men. She struggled as much as she could but with no chakra to call up she just didn't have the strength to escape._

_She sagged against the rough tree behind her, glaring around her as the other men picked up the bodies of their fallen comrades. No one gave her a second look. She eventually drifted off into the deep black of unconsciousness._

_Coming round she was greeted by the crackle of fire, and warmth, she could tell only a couple hours had passed, and was still incredibly weak._

"_Ah at last you're awake," she stiffened at the voice, and tried to turn her head to face him. Her neck screamed in agony, she wouldn't be surprised to learn she had cracked a vertebra or two._

"_I wouldn't want you to miss out on all the fun," the red head grinned at her showing too much of his straight white teeth "I know I won't be able to sell you off, and after losing my livelihood plus the village warned I will have to come back later. First I need to dispose of you, as you may be a problem later. After I have taken back the payment those girls would have brought me. I know you don't have any money though, so how do you propose to pay me? Hmm?" He pretended to look perplexed then leered._

_She shuddered as she started to realize what he meant. Pulling her chains she tested the strength in her arms. Still too weak. He was stalking closer now, terror started to close her throat making it hard to breath, alarm bells clamoring through her brain making it hard to form a coherent thought. Then an image blossomed, the villagers, she could do this, she needed to. The longer she kept this man here the better the villagers chances of survival. She had to trust her shinobi comrades would take them as far as they could, and protect the villagers with their lives. The longer it took this animal to kill her, the longer it would be before he started hunting her comrades and civilian friends down. She glared at the man, but the determination in her dissipated once she looked into the man's liquid eyes. How they managed to unnerve her so easily she would never know. The terror was back, like lead in the pit of her stomach. He was stalking closer like a predator, joy dancing all over his face. He gripped her chin, not caring about the wince of agony as he shifted the broken halves of her jaw bone. He whispered in her ear "I normally get to 'test' the merchandise and see if they have any special techniques, but seeing as you have scared off my girls looks like I will have to make do." his voice causing shudders of revulsion to rack her slender body._

_He slid his hand gently around her cheek to caress the back of her head. Suddenly he tightened his fist. She could feel her scalp tear from the force of his grip. Tears sprung unbidden to her eyes. She squeezed them shut not wanting this beast to see her cry. The cold sting of a kunai against her chest grabbed her attention, slicing through her top and skin as if they weren't even there. She bit her lip wishing she had something that could hide her face and emotional reactions from this vile man. Pain blossomed on her chest as he bit on one bud, breaking the skin and nearly tearing off her areola, the agony caused her breath to hitch sharply._

"_Heh you like that baby? I knew you would, you kunouchis always love a bit of pain mixed in."_

"_You fucking wish, is this the only way you can get your dick wet? Coz I don't think any sane woman would want to touch that shriveled waste of flesh, I bet you couldn't even mount a sheep willingly."_

_She smirked at the look of rage in his eyes; her vision went white, and red and black._

_Head spinning, eye in pain, her socket had been shattered._

"_I warn you bitch I can make this as painful or as pleasant depending on you."_

_She spat blood in his face._

_Snarling he twisted her head and flipped her, the kunai flashed again cutting deep into her back and tearing the last of her top off and her tattered skirt as well._

"_Since you mentioned mounting a sheep, let's see if you can buck as hard as one."_

_At his words all sense of possible escape evaporated, realization hit her like a bucket of ice water. The adrenaline of the fighting drained leaving her shivering harder then before. He grabbed her hips with one hand pulling her up. She tried to drag her awareness away from the tent they were in. Thinking as hard as she could on her friends, her family and village. A white pain arced through her body causing her to instantly lose her concentration. Blood filled her mouth as she bit her tongue to stop screaming. She began to struggle, to fight back, instinct kicking in hard. He grabbed her neck turned her over and forced her face hard into the dirt. Her shoulder was dislocated, arm pinned underneath her body. She had bone fractures, and cuts all over her. The huge gashes on her thigh and back were oozing blood sluggishly as her heart started to slow. Her facial bones broken. But none of it was comparable to the pain of this animal forcing himself into her over and over. The hot searing pain. The humiliation washing over her that she was too weak to stop him. She felt the bite of acid well up her throat has her body rebelled and tried to throw up. Chocking and spluttering on the blood, bile and dirt in her mouth and nose._

_Her brain felt hot and cold at the same time ... she could hear screaming at the edges of her hearing..... she could feel hands grabbing her shoulders pulling her back....._she went flying backwards flattening herself against the furthest wall, one hand forward to deflect all attacks real or imagined, the other hand gripping her chest as she fought to get her breathing under control, eyes wide.

She looked about wildly and then remembered where they were. She was safe. She wasn't in a clearing being abused and violated by a slave trader and rapist. She was in Konoha where she had people she considered friends. She had a home and a worthy job protecting others. Ino was bent over her mentor, Isamu, who was on the floor blood oozing from his nose. The door swung open with a bang and Tsunade was standing there looking to everyone else like a demoness with her hair wild and eyes like amber fire.

"Ino heal Isamu's nose, Amaya, look at me Amaya, don't worry, it was just a memory, you're safe here."

The Hokage slowly reached out a hand, speaking in a low soothing voice like one is speaking to a child scared of the dark.

Amaya's voice came out in a hiss, "Don't. Touch. Me."

She edged slowly away from the elder blonde, "I don't want anyone to touch me right now." She narrowed her eyes at the only male in the room "what happened to him?"

The man in question groaned and sat up, a hand to his head, "Well Amaya we got to your memory of the clearing, and your mind and chakra was strange. At first I could feel it trying to hold mine, I assume for comfort against what it was facing, then when your terror kicked in it gripped my consciousness. I couldn't stop the jutsu, and I couldn't pull back. In fact I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't punched me as that's what forced us apart."

Isamu shuddered then retched, "I experienced everything with you, every emotion, every sight and smell every sensation."

Amaya's eyes widened at what the man had said, that meant, "You? You felt..._that._.. as well?"

Isamu nodded slowly as Ino finished healing his injuries "I am sorry you had to go through that, it's no wonder your mind closed down. I'm shocked you're still alive after seeing all the injuries you received." He sighed then looked at the Hokage.

"I can tell you now she is neither traitor nor a spy; she is from a small village on the outskirts of the fire country near its border with Grass and Iwa, though I couldn't find out the name of the village. From her memories it was razed, so for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist anymore. She is a homeless ninja."

Tsunade smiled gently at the frightened girl "Well Amaya-san, it seems I can now be the first to welcome you fully as a member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Imasu, can you find a blanket please. Ino go and get Sakura and thank you both." The last sentence she finally looked away from Amaya to glance at the other people in the small room, Amaya watched the blonde male leave suspiciously.

Once they left she smiled warmly at Amaya, "Once Imasu comes back I will send him home for the day, do you feel up to walking yet? Or shall we wait till Sakura gets here? She can help you get home without anyone disturbing you."

Amaya slowly peeled herself from the wall and stood tense as a wire, once Imasu came and left Tsunade slowly approached her with the blanket outstretched like she would a frightened animal. She slowly wrapped the black haired jounin in the blanket and helped her sit on the ground, shushing her quietly until Sakura got there.

Sakura took one look at Amaya and ran over. Amaya jerked in Tsunade's grip until she realised who it was and she meant no harm. Meaningful glances between student and teacher were all that was needed.

Sakura pressed green glowing finger tips to Amaya's temple. She stimulated the growth of more serotonin. Once Amaya's face relaxed and she started grinning inanely, she felt it safe enough to carefully take her hands in her own and pull her gently to her feet. "Take her home Sakura, I will have you live and look after her for 3-4 days. If she hasn't made much of a recovery by then let me know and I will extend it. I will have a copy of Ino's notes sent to you there so you know what you're dealing with. Once she is a little stronger and willing to walk outside, I will have you go back to active duty and I will introduce her to her mission partner. I have someone in mind already, but I'm confident with a little time and a sympathetic ear she will make a great recovery."

"Hai Shisou, one thing though, can you arrange for someone to go to my apartment and get me some gear? Naruto or Sai would be your best bet as they know where everything is kept."

Tsunade smiled, and promised she would send for someone as soon as she could.

Sakura took the trembling woman's arm and guided her carefully out of the disgusting interrogation room. What possessed them to do this anywhere apart from a hospital? Shaking her head she spoke quietly to her friend, "come on, let's get you home and something to eat, I know you will get past this, you're strong. After all it was me who found you, and even I was impressed that you survived." she smiled at the smaller woman who was leaning into her looking for comfort.


	5. Chapter 4, Recovery

**A/N As always a huge thanks to my Beta reader, Againstnormal, thanks for putting up with my god AWFUL spelling and punctuation. Thanks to Pazzy for reading my revised chapters and fixing said punctuation and spelling mistakes.**

**A massive thank you to everyone reading this, I've added a glossary at the end after being advised to do so ^_^.  
**

**~Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto nor any of its characters. Or there would be quite a few nude shinobi running about.  
**

**Chapter 4 Recovery**

Sakura smiled as she made the breakfast for herself and Amaya, she had been basically living with the woman for 6 days now. Most people wouldn't have noticed the small improvements that the older kunoichi had made but Sakura could. She had surprised herself by how easily she could read the woman, but then again she had been a student of Kakashi one of Konoha's most unreadable ninjas, not that ninjas were supposed to be easy to read with the exception of Naruto.

She added some tofu cubes to the miso she was making, singing quietly to herself while she immersed herself in the simple pleasure.

_Nen-nen korori yo, Okorori yo.  
Bōya wa yoi ko da, Nenne shina~_

_Bōya no omori wa, Doko e itta?  
Ano yama koete, Sato e itta._

_Sato no miyage ni, Nani morouta?  
Den-den taiko ni, Shō no fue_

She turned to get some bowls so she could serve the miso that was now ready, to find Amaya standing in the doorway just staring at her.

"Um, Amaya-san, are you OK?"

Amaya seemed to realize that she had to breathe.

"Hai Sakura-sama, it's just that was a lullaby my mother used to sing. I'm sorry for my response, you must have thought something was seriously wrong."

She smiled at the pink haired medic, "It's strange being able to remember my mother now, all these little things that I will never see, it's like I'm grieving for her for a second time. You have a lovely singing voice though, please continue."

Sakura blushed "Um ano Amaya-san, if you are feeling up to it would you like to take a short walk today?" she set down the bowls of miso, Amaya sat down opposite her and smiled.

"Hai Sakura-sama in fact why don't we take a look around the market today? I've been cooped up in here too long now, I'm starting to get cabin fever and I know you're going to be much worse than me."

The two women grinned and began to discuss their plans for the day, Sakura secretly pleased by such a huge step forward as Amaya had avoided all human contact since the memory retrieval. She would try and time it for when the market place wasn't as busy, that would be easier on Amaya.

Amaya smiled to herself, the memories of her mother singing the Edo lullaby while she cooked seemed to make the dark thoughts in her head fade, she grasped desperately to that image of the slight dark haired woman, with her eyes like green fire, humming while she chopped and peeled. Amaya sent a silent heartfelt thanks to Sakura, if she hadn't just been herself and reminded her of that homey image she would still be wallowing in her own private hell.

The two kunoichis wandered slowly through the market, pointing out different stalls and wares to each other. Amaya found a stall that sold some beautiful carved wooden puppets, "Oh Sakura-chan look at these! These are precious." Amaya carefully picked up the fully jointed chidori puppet, its neck had several joints as did the wings. She picked up a small inu and a kitsune with a movable tails, an elegant tsuru with jointed wings and neck like the chidori, and a geisha with a fan as well.

"How much for all these?" she asked the stall holder. She paid the elderly man and smiled as he handed her the brown wrapped package, these would make wonderful gifts. She had been thinking about the risk team Kakashi had taken when they brought her home with them, they had risked their village's security and their reputations as elite shinobi, she also now realized the full extents of her injuries, and no wonder people seemed in awe of Sakura and her phenomenal medical abilities. If anyone else had found her she would be dead. She knew that these small gifts would never make up for the past 2 years of trust and friendship they had shown her, but it was a start. She smiled and started humming happily to herself as she caught up with Sakura who was gazing at some beautiful silk.

"Are you hungry Sakura-chan?"

Her pink haired friend nodded then grinned, "Come on I know a wonderful dango shop." The medic grabbed Amaya's free arm and dragged her down the dusty street towards the shop.

A while later found the two sitting beside the river, the temperature was already climbing fast, and the air was feeling thick. They giggled while they ate their An-dango, kicking the water into the air in a refreshing mist.

"Sakura, I want to thank you, I am now starting to realize how much you have done for me" She held up a hand to stop the girl who was about to interrupt her. "No, don't be modest, over the last few days with my memory coming back I realized that you could have been tried for breaching the village security when you brought me with you, in fact you could have been tried for treason for healing me if I _had_ turned out to be an enemy nin, plus the friendship and understanding you have shown me is more then I have ever deserved." Sakura blushed slightly and mumbled for her to not mention it with a shy smile.

"Don't give me that, you know as well as I do what would of happened had you left me there like normal shinobi training dictates, I now realize the extent of my injuries, add to that the fact you have been staying with me to help my mind recover, I just don't know how to thank you, well all of Team Kakashi but you in particular I would have died had it been anyone else."

Sakura beamed at Amaya, "Amaya-chan it was my pleasure, you're a sweet loyal loving person once you get under your layers, and I'm happy you consider me a friend."

Amaya smiled back "Well I got team Kakashi some small gifts to say thank you, they aren't much, but next time you all meet up for a drink let me tag along so I can give them to you all ne?"

The rosette kunoichi nodded, a puff of smoke appeared in front of them.

An ANBU officer wearing a fox mask walked a step forward.

"Haruno-san, Migoto-san the Hokage requests your presence immediately."

The two females stood and nodded to ANBU who disappeared in another puff of smoke once he knew they were going to follow the request.

"Tsunade doesn't wait around does she? I wonder who told her I was out and about finally. On a different note Naruto-sama looks good in his ANBU uniform" she raised one slender black eyebrow in surprise.

Sakura just giggled and shook her head," I'm surprised you haven't noticed _all_ ninja look good in ANBU uniform, it's been a well proven fact there is nothing hotter than a male ANBU coming back from a mission covered in sweat and someone else's blood."

Amaya looked at her in slight horror, until she realized the girl was just teasing her.

"Ha ha ha, OK I was joking but the ANBU uniform _is_ rather hot" She looked wistfully at the spot where Naruto had stood seconds ago, noticing that Amaya was right. Naruto had looked rather good, Hinata was a lucky girl. She then realized something, this might have been the first time Amaya had ever made a comment about a male well anything other than flat cold fact. Maybe the rape and abuse she endured had affected her subconsciously and stopped her from seeking relationships further then comradeship, or even seeing the men around her as anything other than people she worked with. Sakura peered at her from the side of her eye. Maybe she should speak to Kurenai and Anko about this, they would know more and be able to advise her. She wouldn't ask Ino, the buta would probably spread that information to every single person she knew.

Sakura hooked her arm around the smaller, older woman and they began to walk towards the Hokage's tower. Amaya could feel anticipation and slight dread settle in her stomach, what did the Hokage have planned for her, maybe she was finally gonna be sent out on a proper mission, she already had her jounin rank just not her forehead protector, oh maybe that was it? Maybe she was finally getting her Hitae-ate, she felt the dread start to lift and be replaced with butterflies instead as she started to get excited.

"Come on Sakura-chan, let's hurry."

They pushed chakra into their feet and jumped up onto the roofs running and jumping all the way. Passing quickly over the heads of the oblivious civilians, who were so used to the activity of their protectors they didn't even glance up any more. Excitement warred with propriety, and lost.

They jumped down to enter the door at the base of the tower rather then throw themselves through the Hokage's window at the top. They walked into the reception area, Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo grinned at the two kunoichi's from their desks, Sakura smiled in return, Amaya gave the males a small stare.

"Ohayo Sakura-chan, Amaya-san, I hear congratulations are in order, finally one of us ne?"

The two chuunin threw each other a knowing look.

"You will have to come out with us for a drink sometimes Amaya-san, to celebrate of course, Sakura-chan the Hokage has asked that you wait behind after please."

"Hai Kotetsu-san" Sakura gave them both a small nod before knocking on the door to the Hokage's office. Shizune opened it from the inside and allowed them to enter; she gave Amaya a small grin as she passed by, the door closed behind her.

"Ah Sakura, Amaya, please sit down, thank you for coming quickly," The blonde waved her hand towards two chairs indicating they should make themselves comfortable.

"As you have probably guessed, it's my pleasure to present you with your hitae-ate Amaya" The elder woman reached into a drawer in her desk, she stood and walked around to Amaya who got up and gave the Hokage a short bow.

Amaya gazed at the forehead protector in the Hokage's outstretched hands. To anyone else it would just be a scrap of cloth with some metal pinned to it, to her though it was acceptance, finally. It took her a second to realize,

"It's got a sanguine band?"

"I had it made special for you" The blonde woman smiled down at the diminutive kunoichi "I'm glad you liked it though, well this was the easiest part of this meeting, Sakura can I ask that you come back in once Amaya leaves please?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the dismissal but complied anyway "Hai Tsunade-Shisou" she flashed Amaya a look that was meant to calm her.

Amaya tied her Hitae-ate around her forehead, her black hair and white streak flopping over to hide most of it, the leaf symbol peeking through the parting of her hair.

"Now Amaya, I have seen you walking about town today, you look much better than last time I saw you, how are you feeling mentally now?"

Amaya smiled genuinely, "I actually feel quite happy now Hokage-sama. Having Sakura help me the last few days helped as well, even if the help she offered she wasn't actually aware of. I did kind of rebel against her when she actively offered me support I'm sorry to say" she grinned sheepishly. "But some things she did reminded me of my mother, and once the horror of those memories had died down I still have the wonderful ones of my mother and father and the villagers and my comrades."

"You care a lot for your comrades don't you Amaya?" Amaya was taken aback by the sudden change in conversation.

"H-hai Hokage-sama, though I've come to accept I am never likely to find my comrades from my home village, and I already have friends here who I would give my life to protect."

Tsunade smiled at her answer, quite pleased with herself,

"I'm glad to hear you say that, my main reason for calling you up today is to introduce you to your mission partner" Amaya stiffened slightly, she preferred to work solo, she didn't trust others enough to work well seamlessly like you had to on teams and with mission partners, relying on others to not mess up was not a strong point.

"Ano Hokage-sama? Am I still under suspicion?"

The amber eyed Hokage looked puzzled and shook her head, "Iie, like I told you at the ANBU offices, your particular skills would be much better on a team. I know you don't want much contact right now so I have compromised and it's going to be one person you can build a rapport with."

Tsunade's eyes darkened. Proof that she had argued about this already

Amaya's eyes narrowed, "And just _who_ has been assigned to babysit me" she ground out through gritted teeth. She hoped it would be Sakura but she also knew the blonde would not assign her own student to such a degrading job. Maybe Kurenai, since her team all reached jounin level, the older woman tended to be sent on solos a lot as well. Whoever the other woman was she hoped she didn't have too short a temper. A knock at the door drew their attention.

"Ah, he is here at last! Late as usual I see."

"_**HE**_? Tsunade-hime you can't be seriously teaming me up with a.. a.. _**man**_" she spluttered in shock, her head reeled as Shizune went to open the door for the man. She tried to calm her breathing, and failed miserably. It was a man who had abused her, who violated her, who had killed friends and destroyed her home, it was a man who had nearly killed her. She wasn't a man hater as such, she just preferred to keep them at a distance, She didn't trust them very much. "_breathe Amaya, you can do this, you can still keep him at arm's length, you just have to prove you don't need a mission partner to be a successful ninja."_

She turned to glare at her new partner, only to get another shock.

"Yo" he gave a small wave and an eye crinkle, she had been teamed up with the pervert, not just _**a**_ pervert but _**the**_ pervert of Konoha. She could be civil and friendly enough to the man, precisely because she _could_ keep him from getting too close. But now she was being expected to form a close bond with a man who will admit that he doesn't let people get close either. Sweet Kami here was the man who used porn in public to stop people from bonding with him, "You cannot be serious Tsunade-hime" Amaya nearly growled at the Hokage, the woman glared right back.

Kakashi felt a little trapped. This was the last thing he was expecting when he was called to the Hokage's office. He thought maybe he had been offered a mission not a babysitting job.

"How long is this 'arrangement' to last Hokage-sama?" He ground out

"As long as I deem required Kakashi. The pair of you seems to have problems building true team bonds, so you two can muddle through with each other instead. Kakashi before you say anything, protecting your team from dying and forming a bond so strong you almost know what the other is thinking is two totally different things. I want you both here tomorrow after your training. You are both dismissed."

Kakashi simply glared before turning to leave. Amaya on the other hand spluttered,

"I can understand your reasoning Hokage-sama but…"

"Kotetsu and Izuma have been instructed to give you two some tips and training," Shizune interrupted before Amaya ended up punched through a wall. She guided the two towards the office door.

Amaya followed Kakashi "_her partner"_ out of the room carefully closing the door behind her.

Kotetsu looked up grinning at the shell shocked pair.

"You could have warned us" Amaya hissed at the bandaged chuunin.

Kakashi sighed " We are supposed to ask you two for advice" Sakura looked a bit confused until Amaya explained to her, "Tsunade-sama has saddled me with a _mission partner"_ her Jade eyed widened as she glanced between her ex sensei and her black haired friend. "But you only just started to recover the memory retrieval." Amaya shook her head.

"I'm stronger then you think Sakura-san I will be ok."

Kakashi snorted, "What makes you think I won't be?" Amaya glared at him.

"I think I win that one Kakashi." She glared at him "You are a passionless pervert, I on the other hand am cheerful and fun." Kakashi snorted at that. She gave him a fake smile, "Oh, Sakura, remember Tsunade-sama wanted to see you now, Kotetsu, Izumo we are supposed to get tips from you guys."

"OK, meet us at training grounds 11 tomorrow morning, around 9am."

Amaya grunted to let them know she heard him. "You better not be late Kakashi, I do not like waiting around, and you won't like me pissed off either" with that she slammed the door behind her and stormed down the stairs muttering angrily to herself.

Three male sets of eyebrows all rose in unison at the abrupt behavior from the dark kunoichi.

Sakura sighed "Kaka-sensei you know she isn't normally like that, she has had an extremely rough week and is finding it hard to trust anyone let alone a man, don't worry she will calm down soon."

"I'm not too worried about that, but I'm supposed to train with her as well. I'm more worried about her trying to rip my head off." He shoved one hand in his pocket while lifting the orange bound book in front of his face.

"Well sayonara" with that he disappeared in a gentle poof, and a curl of grey smoke.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Sensei ~ Teacher**

**Inu ~ Dog**

**Tsuru ~ Crane**

**Chidori ~ Plover**

**Kitsune ~ Fox**

**Buta ~ Pig**

**Sayonara ~Good bye**

**Ohayo ~ Good Morning**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Miso/Dango ~ Japanese food**

**Edo Lullaby**

_Nen-nen korori yo, Okorori yo.  
Bōya wa yoi ko da, Nenne shina~_

Bōya no omori wa, Doko e itta?  
Ano yama koete, Sato e itta.

Sato no miyage ni, Nani morouta?  
Den-den taiko ni, Shō no fue

**English translation**

_Hushabye, Hushabye!_  
_ My good Baby, Sleep!_

_ Where did my boy's baby-sitter go?_  
_ Beyond that mountain, back to her home._

_ As a souvenir from her home, what did you get?_  
_ A toy drum and a __Shō__ flute._


	6. Chapter 5, Training

**A/N a big thanks to my wonderful beta Agaisntnormal. Who was ill but still beta-ed my crap. And thanks to my proof readers, Pazzy and Bry! Thanks so much guys**

**An even bigger thanks to my readers though, i know you guys are silent, but no news is good news right? (meaning no reviews hopefully means you actually LIKE it)**

**Some fighting and Kakashi being.... sweet? o.O**

**(oh and Kakashi will be heavily featured from now on, thanks for your patience)**

**~Disclaimer~ I do NOT own Naruto nor any of Kishi-sama's characters, otherwise Akatsuki, Kakashi and Sai would regularly shack up,**

Chapter 5: Training

Yawning, Amaya stretched. She could hear the birds singing outside her window, but something seemed a bit strange.

She stood and stretched, bending at the hips to touch her forehead to her knees. Slowly uncurling her spine, she raised her arms upwards and slowly brought them down in front of her chest in a prayer position. She moved into a dancers pose, balancing on one foot, raising one hand in front of her, grabbing her ankle with the other hand and pulling her foot upwards to arch her back fully. While she did her yogic exercises the memories from the previous day slowly filtered back to her,

That's what was strange; she couldn't hear Sakura making breakfast. The pinked haired jounin was usually up as soon as the sun was up! She choked back the feeling, the surprising sensation of loneliness. This wouldn't do at all, Sakura had only stayed with her for a week and it wasn't like she hadn't lived alone before.

Sighing, she checked the clock. 7:12 a.m. - enough time to have a shower, make breakfast and maybe get some practice in before she had to meet the three guys.

Standing under the cool shower she gave some thought to what Tsunade had been saying. She was too angry yesterday to stop and think rationally about her arguments, and now looking at them she supposed they made some sense. It didn't mean she _accepted_ this, not at all; it just meant there was some validity to her words.

Well, if she was being forced into this she might as well make the best of it. Tsunade had, after all, told Kakashi he had to teach her new techniques that would be suited to her own personal nature. This was an excellent opportunity to learn some new jutsus and she wasn't about to let that go. She only had to hope that Kakashi wasn't going to be as difficult as she expected him too.

She stepped out of the shower and started brushing her teeth while drip-drying. It was early, yet she could feel the summer sun already starting to heat the house up. It was going to be a really hot day. Maybe she should suggest that they train on training ground 6, as that one has the big lake. Just in case of stray fire and lightening jutsus of course. She didn't really want Konoha burning to the ground because of a simple sparring exercise.

She chuckled at the mental image of her and Kakashi with guilty, soot covered, faces and the Hokage berating them like naughty children playing with matches, while the Hokage tower burned behind them.

Entering her bedroom, she spotted her new forehead protector on the bedside cabinet. Smiling, she picked it up and rubbed a thumb over the smooth, unmarred metal, feeling the swirl of the leaf symbol. She placed it back down and went to her wardrobe to pick something to wear today for practice.

She chose the usual mesh under shirt and black shorts. "_Should I wear my usual skirt? Or will the shorts be enough? I don't want to be affected by this heat too badly."_ She put her skirt back and rummaged, finding her old black training top. It was made from a similar material to her shorts, and was more form fitting than her sanguine, funnel-necked uniform.

Sitting on the edge of her bed, she carefully wrapped her bandages around her face and neck again, having slept without them last night. That was one good thing about living alone really; she didn't feel the need to hide herself all the time. She got dressed quickly and did some test stretches, making sure she was fully flexible in her top and shorts.

Smiling, she ran a brush through her hair and tied her Hatai-ate on tightly before making her way to her kitchen. She made up a basket of cold food for lunch, making sure there would be enough for her and three hungry boys, plus extra water bottles. "_Kami knows I am always starving after practice, this way I won't feel guilty eating in front of them."_ She grabbed an apple to eat on the way and left the house, heading straight to the training grounds. She would have plenty of time to warm up properly, and possibly kick back and catch some of the early morning sunshine in peace.

She arrived at the grounds an hour and 15 minutes early. Smiling, she placed the basket of food in the shade of one of the trees. Amaya started by doing some stretches, enjoying pushing her ligaments and tendons to protesting slightly as she pushed further each time. She walked back to the tree her food was hidden under and jumped to one of the lower branches. Hanging upside down by her legs, she began to do sit ups, counting softly to herself, made all the harder by the combined fact of the blood rushing to her head and the building heat of the day.

Once she reached 200 she released the branch, flipping to land on her feet. She dropped down and began to do quick pushups. Then, turning onto her side, she did one-handed pushups, while trying to hold her balance. When she reached 100 she uses the up motion to flip and do the other side as well. Amaya kept exercising until she felt slightly out of breath, then she stopped and sat down.

Leaning back onto her hands, head tilted back, she basked in the sun's glory. She realized, belatedly, that wearing all black was probably a bad idea. Then again, Kakashi, Kotetsu and Izuma were likely to be wearing their full chuunin and jounin uniforms, so she definitely had the advantage there. The three men thought they were all physically stronger then her, maybe that was one reason for pairing her with a male. She knew she wasn't as strong as Sakura but no one, bar Tsunade, was.

She lay back fully. Lifting one leg, she pulled it so it was straight and flush against her body, the opposite limb laying flat against the ground. She enjoyed the deep stretching she could feel along the front of one thigh and up the back of the other. Her chakra sense prickled a little, "_Hmm what was that?" _She stretched her chakra sense out as she carefully lowered her leg. Whatever it was, it was gone now. She was stretching the next leg the same way, when she felt Kotetsu and Izuma's chakras approaching the grounds. Sighing, she rolled up and sat next to the basket, waiting for them.

"_I know I told Kakashi not to be late, but I didn't expect you two would be as well"_

She tried to scowl at the grinning chuunins, shaking her head; she asked what they were supposed to be doing once 'His Majesty' deigned to arrive.

"Well, once Kakashi-sama gets here we will be explaining about combination attacks. We will demonstrate some of our own first. Also, we will try and sort out some exercises that will help the two of you get in tune with each other. You need to be perfect with your timing to combine attack effectively."

Amaya felt excitement at the thought of new jutsus, and annoyance at Kakashi's lateness.

"Well, while we wait for Kakashi, do you guys want to spar gently? I could do with a real work out. It's mainly my taijutsu that could use improvement."

The two chuunin looked at each other.

"Only if it's a no chakra spar, and the two of us against you?" Izuma requested.

Amaya gave him a confused look.

"Well, you are jounin level after all. If you want a real work out you will either need to wait for a sparring partner on par with your skills or try against the two of us. Don't worry, we won't hurt you seriously."

Amaya grinned and dropped into a fighting stance, "Hai. Should be fun."

Kotetsu and Izuma both assumed a ready stance at these words, one moving slowly to her left and the other to her right. "_They are trying to trap me in a pincer move; I won't be caught with such a low level technique."_

She waited until both chuunins were directly left and right of her and then took off, sprinting into the open ground away from the shelter of the trees. Her sparring partners were surprised only for a split second at the sudden move before they both ran after her. Amaya stopped in the middle of the training grounds, dropped her arms closed her eyes and let her senses come to the forefront. Her skin prickled as she realized she had been taught this by the ninja she called Fuyu in her memories.

Letting her breathing slow, standing on the edge of calm, she could feel the chuunin's chakra flows. Izuma's was a deep blue, cool and soothing, Kotetsu's chakra was green-brown and a little wild. Her other senses began to sharpen, her hearing first. She could hear the males breathing as her auditory sense became stronger; she could swear she heard their heartbeats. Her sense of smell began to heighten, the warm smell of baked earth and the heady aroma of jasmine and gardenia that was her personal scent.

Then the smell of grease and oil that the shinobi used to keep their weapons in good condition, with each man's personal scent just underneath. She could also smell other things, like the cool water from the lake three training grounds over. The scent of the trees, of the village, of people. Sweet strong soft smells, deep dark wet ones, she could smell the food she had prepared, and trees, and sweat, and heat.

Amaya smiled. She felt, rather than heard, Kotetsu make the first move. Twirling out of the way of his kick she spun, and with her thumb extended, landed it lightly against his neck. She whispered "you're dead." Eyes still closed, she ducked under Izuma's strike. Spinning low, she used her momentum to bend backward out of the spin. She continued to flip over into a one handed backflip, stretched her toes a bit further and clipped Izuma under the chin as she flipped completely back and away from the attackers.

She didn't have time to feel smug about the move as Kotetsu immediately charged her, trying to keep her on the defensive. Blocking punches high and kicks down low, she watched and waited for a gap, anything, it didn't matter how small, "_there",_ slipping her hand under his guard, she tapped her fingers against his solar plexus and reached a hand behind his neck, "That's twice."

Using her shoulder, she flipped Kotetsu over her and onto his back. Before he even hit the ground she went after his partner. Izuma was expecting her and wasn't easily put on the defensive. She changed her tactics, going from normal hand to hand combat to combining it with gymnastics. It was a style she had been developing herself before she lost her home. Her father, wanting all bases covered, had not only sent her to have combat lessons but also sent her to gymnastics classes.

She went from brute force punches to fluid, graceful flips and somersaults, then handstands, using her feet to strike out, only to drop down into a roll and attack his legs from underneath. Kotetsu and Izuma were both kept on the defensive throughout all of this. She suddenly tripped Izuma, jumped over him tapping him with her fingers lightly between his eyes and landed on Kotetsu using her body weight to knock him over and pin him to the ground too, laughing breathlessly. "Now you're both dead again."

She stood and offered her hand to Kotetsu and helped him up. Glancing at the sun, she determined it must be about 10:30. They had been sparring for a good hour and a half and Kakashi was still not there.

"Are either of you thirsty?"

She walked to the food hamper she had brought. Rummaging, she pulled out three bottles of water and, drinking from hers, she threw the guys one each.

Izuma broke the relaxed silence first. "How did you do that stuff with your eyes closed?"

"Hn? Oh well, I am remembering more of my original training as I go along; I was taught by a blind man named Fuyu. He was my best friend and, as far as I know, he died. But he did teach me how to fight with my senses; he would say it would help me because of my kekkei genkai."

Kotetsu spluttered "You have a bloodline limit?!?"

Amaya smiled and nodded. She sat down and gestured for the two men to do so as well. "I now remember my family history. I was taught as a little girl all about my ancestors and stuff. I came from a strong family of ninjas; there wasn't a single civilian there. My kekkei genkai is one that I can't really switch off. About 4 or 5 generations ago, a Hyuuga fell in love with an Inuzuka. They ended up eloping with each other and became missing nins, all because the Hyuuga clan didn't approve of the relationship."

They went on to have 6 children, 2 girls and 4 boys. They all had the Inuzuka's chakra enhanced nasal and auditory passages, but the byakugan wasn't fully developed. It seems the two different features merged, almost mutated into one. My nose, ears and eyes are all constantly chakra enhanced, but it's very low level, it will never be as good as the alphas in the Inuzuka clan and we will never have the dojutsu of the Hyuuga clan either."

"Even though there is chakra there all the time, it kind of recycles itself. Usually when someone uses a byakugan the chakra goes to the eyes and dissipates as it's used, with our eyes and senses the chakra comes up and heightens the nerves then travels back down. I can focus more there and turn it into a proper jutsu."

"It's strange to describe, but the byakugan sees chakra, as does the sharingan. My eyes, when fully opened, see chakra heat. The more developed it is the whiter it appears, and something that is has little or no chakra goes blue right down to black. My nose is so sensitive that I can nearly see scents when I open the olfactory senses."

"I don't really know what happened to my uncles and aunts, all I know is my branch settled, maybe the other lines died in the wars or something. As far as I know I've not heard of anyone else having the same, eyes or kekkei genkai as me."

Izuma just looked stunned; Kotetsu said "Does the Hokage know this? 'Coz she really should, usually all kekkei genkai are recorded, and depending on the importance she could guide you in how best to pass on your genes so it won't die out."

Amaya looked absolutely horrified at this. "You mean I should let her and the elders set me up as a breeding cow? How could you even suggest such a thing? I don't even have the intention of dating or being intimate with another person if I can physically help it, let alone _breed_ with some random person for the sole intent of getting pregnant and popping out children to appease the higher-ups."

Amaya could feel her blood start to boil at the thought.

"I'm sure it wouldn't be that bad Amaya-chan." a deep, lazy voice drawled out.

Without even turning around Amaya growled at him. "About time you arrived. What part of 9 a.m. makes you think that 10:30 is the correct time to show up?"

She turned to face him, one slender black eyebrow rising.

He held up his hands. "In my defense I've been here since you started your own exercises, before these two arrived. Tsunade wanted me to assess your skill level. I can safely say your taijutsu is as good as the Hokage suggested."

After listening to you describe your kekkei genkai I will be very interested to see how we can take advantage of your abilities". He leaned over to whisper in her ear; "Don't worry I won't tell Tsunade or the council about it, though I imagine it would be more a case of lining up a load of eligible guys and having you go down the line and take your pick." he chuckled as she turned pink.

She stepped back and scowled at him again. "Just shut up, I'm still pissed at you; you should be testing my skills out for yourself. I bet you haven't really been watching either, I bet you were just reading that perverted book of yours again."

"Maa maa Amaya-chan. Honestly, I was watching your form. May I ask, what style of taijutsu did you use? I saw you change styles halfway through, it was unlike anything I've seen before."

Amaya's mouth formed a small 'oh'. "Um, well, I developed my own style when I was training. My father wanted me to have the same opportunities as the other girls in the village so not only did I do hand to hand training I also did gymnastics, and I started to combine the two together."

Izuma and Kotetsu exchange glances, surprised at how quickly the copy nin had calmed Amaya down. Thought they didn't let the other two see this.

"Well now you're here, Kakashi-sama, we do need to discuss combined attacks. I'm sure you know a fair bit about them but I don't think you have actually had to do it yourself." Izuma smiled.

Kakashi and Amaya looked at the two chuunin. Sighing, she sat back down and took another deep drink. "OK, you wanna explain it to me then?"

Izuma smiled down at her before sitting down too and motioning to his partner to do the same. Kakashi slumped against the tree and tried to look interested, though he couldn't stop glancing at Amaya, surprised by what he had learned already.

"OK. Now combination attacks are similar to the kekkei genkais that allow users to combine elements. Yamato's is a good example, he combines earth and wood jutsu to create wood, while we can't create wood you need to be able to create a spark of life for that to work. I have a water type nature and Kotetsu here is earth, we can combine our natures to come up with original attacks, but we need to have perfect timing as we won't want the jutsu to fail."

After the battle with Kakuzu and Hidan we have worked pretty hard to make ourselves stronger. I can tell you pretty much what my partner is thinking by simply glancing at him now, and because of this familiarity we have we can predict what the other is going to do in different situations, including battles. You did well against the two of us in a taijutsu fight but that was expected, because your skills are higher than ours."

Amaya mumbled "it wasn't easy though, I had to slip into my stronger style of hand to hand to fight you guys evenly."

"That doesn't matter Amaya, what matters is you managed to beat us. In fact, you 'killed' us both several times and I think we only got non-fatal hits on you. Well anyway, rather then tell you what a combined attack is it would be better to show you."

Izuma placed his bottle of water beside the food hamper. Kotetsu tossed his to Amaya for her to place next to hers, and all four of them walked to the centre of the grounds again.

"OK, first off I would like to check Amaya's chakra affinity. Tsunade-sama instructed me to find out and teach her the correct jutsus for her style and to teach her a secondary as well." Kakashi searched through his hip pouch and pulled out a piece of paper.

"That's a good idea Kakashi, you already know your affinity so you can try and teach her a secondary that will correspond with one of yours as well." Izuma nodded.

Kakashi handed the paper to Amaya, but she looked a bit confused. "Erm? What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Concentrate a small amount of chakra through the paper, Amaya-chan. The way it reacts will tell us what type you are." She focused her chakra to her fingertips and slowly let it seep into the paper; it almost immediately became soggy and wet.

"HA! You're a water type like me Amaya-san." Izuma looked delighted. "I can probably teach you the jutsu I'm about to use right now if you like."

Amaya just smiled curiously and watched the chuunin with interest. "Hai Izuma-san, I'm looking forward to seeing both techniques now."

Izuma and Kotetsu stepped further away from their observers. Kakashi lifted up his hai-ate so he could record with his sharingan what they were doing.

They both preformed three different hand seals, and shouted simultaneously.

"~_Suiton; No jutsu"_

"_~Doton; No Jutsu"_

They both then preformed 10 more seals ending with the dragon seal and shouted together,

"_~Ninpo: Kurei no Tatsu"_

The ground below them buckled, as Izuma spewed water in front of them. Suddenly a dragon made of mud and clay was formed from the arid earth. Amaya took a step back, staring at the mythical beast in awe. Kakashi watched with interest. His visible eye widened, impressed with the growth the two chuunin had shown. The dragon bucked in the air a few times before dropping into the earth and merging with it, leaving nothing in its wake apart from a patch of mud with no grass growing there.

The two chuunins turned and smiled proudly at the watchers, pleased with the silent admiration.

"This technique doesn't even use up as much chakra as forming an elemental dragon normally does because there are two of us bearing the load, plus very few people could combine elements to form an attack like that unless they have a bloodline limit that allows them to use two at once. Most ninja can use one element at a time but not together."

Kakashi's eyebrow rose higher and higher the more the smaller man spoke. Amaya grinned; maybe having a partner wouldn't be so bad after all. I mean, she would get to learn how to use bad-assed jutsus like that.

"OK Amaya-san, lets teach you water release, ne?"

"Hai. I have a technique or two to teach you as well. I will observe for now, but I want to see how quickly you learn too." Kakashi smirked at her as she thought "_oh that's right, I nearly forgot who my partner was; the most infuriating man I've ever met." _

She jogged over to Izuma and smiled sweetly up to him. "Does this mean I have to call you sensei?"

Izuma chucked and shook his head. "Now now Amaya-san, you don't want to make your partner jealous" he muttered quietly, for only her to hear. Amaya's eyes widened at his words "Why would he get jealous?"

Izuma took a breath and decided not to answer that, instead he started showing her the hand seals needed to perform the jutsu.

Glancing up at his partner, Kakashi noticed she was sweating lightly from concentrating so much on learning this new technique. He was impressed; the clay dragon technique was good and it was one he could never learn without another person to perform it with him. As much as he hated to admit it maybe Tsunade was right, it was a powerful jutsu and, as they said, it only used half the normal chakra to perform. That would be extremely handy, plus the fact that he had a competent partner as well, not to mention attractive.

Wait! Attractive? Kakashi shook his head, trying to dislodge that thought. Maybe he needed to go out tonight and get himself a little R&R. It wouldn't do, having those kinds of thoughts about her, especially since she was so socially retarded and recovering from a mental trauma. He realized she had already learned the jutsu, and was just tidying up her technique.

"Well done Amaya-chan" He called out, "That last one was nicely done."

Amaya turned, then said something quietly to Izuma before walking over to Kakashi and Kotetsu.

She flopped down under the tree, panting slightly. "Is anyone hungry? I thought we would be sparring all day today so I made sure I made enough for everyone here."

The three males looked eagerly between her and the food basket, "I will take that as a yes" she laughed, and dragged the hamper in the middle of them. "Well guys, help yourself" and opened the lid.

She grabbed herself a small plateful of food, tucked her water bottle into the waist band of her shorts and leaped up to one of the branches so she could eat in peace.

She was about to pull down her bandages to eat when she felt a breeze and suddenly one copy nin was sitting in front of her, his eye crinkle apparent. "Ne Amaya-chan? Why are you not eating with us?"

"Kakashi-san, you wear a mask, how often do you allow people to see your face?"

Kakashi sat back a little and nodded thoughtfully.

"I can't move bandages up and down like you do with your mask."

"Hmmm? I know!" He turned and searched through his pouch, pulling out a small scrap of navy fabric, smiling he offered it to her.

"Um, arigato, I think. Um, what is this for?" She looked at the cloth in her hand.

"It's my spare mask; I thought you could use it, since it will make things a bit easier for you. Come on, put it on and join us, Kotetsu and Izuma have eaten with me enough to not stare, and I will not stare at you as long as you promise not to do it to me."

With that he winked at her, well that's what it looked like, and dropped down to the ground.

Sighing, she contemplated the scrap in her hand. Taking another deep sigh, she carefully unwound most of her facial bandages and tied Kakashi's mask around her face.

"_Hmmm, this isn't too bad. It's not as constrictive as the wraps and it smells like him as well. At least he doesn't stink of fish or something."_ She laughed in her head before jumping down to eat lunch with her new partner and comrades, feeling a lot more relaxed than she had been this morning.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Sensei ~ Teacher**

**Ohayo ~ Good Morning**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Ninpo: Kurei no Tastu ~ Ninja Arts: Clay Dragon  
**


	7. Chapter 6, Housemates

**A/N a huge thanks to my beta's and proof readers! Againstnormal, Pazzy neechan, and Bry! You guys are super awesome, an even BIGGER thanks to my readers! If you hadn't noticed I update this every Friday, and I've nearly finished writing this arc as well (17 or 18 chapters in total) And the good stuff's about to begin as well.**

**~Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto nor any of it's characters. They are Kishimoto-sama's. If i did then icha Icha would just be porn of Kakashi, Deidara, Itachi, Pein, Hidan, Kiba and Shikimaru.**

Chapter 6 Housemates

After they had eaten their fill for lunch, Kotetsu and Izuma informed the new partners that they only had another hour left to spar before they had to go and attend the Hokage.

Amaya and Kakashi sparred as a pair this time, and were woefully aware of the fact they did not have the timing that Kotetsu and Izuma had. The two chuunin had a couple of jutsus they combined to great effect, plus they could fight together as a pair seamlessly, and with Kotetsu's genjutsu and Izuma's taijutsu they were quite a force. Amaya was painfully aware that, had she and Kakashi been fighting just two chuunins, they would have normally won much more easily, but while the two were lower in total skill than her or her partner, together they were at elite jounin level.

They did win the spar of course, but not without a few twinges here and there. She had to use her basic med-nin knowledge to heal a kunai wound Kakashi had gotten. He had a few other cuts and bruises too, but nothing serious. It was the same for herself; she had over extended at one point, and had likely torn a muscle along her back which Izuma took advantage of it. She sighed deeply, if this was the best they, two elite jounin, could do against the two grinning chuunins they were in serious trouble.

After Amaya had healed up Kakashi as best she could, Izuma said they should probably come along to see the Hokage as well, to see what else she wanted from them. Amaya and Kakashi's shoulders slumped but they agreed and trudged slowly behind the two elder ninja.

Arriving at the Hokage's offices, they were bid to sit and await the Hokage. Once Kotetsu and Izuma had finished giving Tsunade their report they came back into the reception area, sat behind their respective desks, and began to catch up on the work they had neglected.

Amaya glared at the pair, before clearing her throat.

"Huh? Oh you two can go in now" Kotetsu grinned at the two as he got an incredulous look.

"Come in please" Tsunade stood and began to pace slightly while reading a report in her hands.

"Right, OK then. Well, as expected, individually you're both excellent ninjas. Kakashi do you have a report on Amaya's strengths, weaknesses, and particular skills?"

"Um, no gomen Hokage-sama" Kakashi stood to attention, focusing on a spot on the wall behind Tsunade's head. "I can tell you that your first assumptions were almost correct, though she does learn quite quickly. She was shown a c-rank elementary jutsu and had picked it up perfectly within 45 minutes. Her taijutsu is very impressive, with a fluid and unique style. She might not be as physically strong, but she is fast and seems able to adapt quickly as well. We didn't really get the chance to test out genjutsu, but she did manage to successfully catch both Kotetsu-san and Izuma-san in Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu.

In fact, if it wasn't for her quick thinking to use the double blinding technique instead of a simple genjutsu it may have taken even longer to win. As it was, Kotetsu and Izuma both have pretty good genjutsu training but they only dispelled the first layer. Kakashi smirked, he had been particularly impressed. Amaya had muttered under her breath so only he could hear her. She'd asked him to make it a bit noisy, so they couldn't hear which genjutsu she was going to use. It worked like a dream.

"Kotetsu and Izuma also showed us their collaboration jutsus. I must say they are surprising, I don't think either of us expected something quite of that level". Amaya nodded in agreement.

Tsunade smiled to herself; maybe this would be easier than she thought.

"OK, this seems like it will work quite well. I want you two to actually stay with each other."

She quickly held her hands up as the two jounin started to explode.

"I'm not suggested you stay in the same bed or anything, merely live together as house mates. It will help you both build the bond required for the collaboration jutsus and to work almost as one person rather than two. This is what I'm aiming for, Kakashi you are easily one of the strongest active duty ninjas this village has. Unfortunately your strongest jutsus put a huge amount of strain on your body, and we don't want to lose you prematurely. With a partner you can pull off very strong jutsus with minimal chakra drain, then, if you are forced to use your sharingan or mangekyu, you won't nearly die from chakra drain every time."

And Amaya, as strong as you are already, you have the potential to be so much more. It would also be good for your social and mental health to have someone near. Now I don't expect you both to spend every waking moment in each others company, that's neither realistic nor healthy, but I expect to see at least a small increase in your partnership fighting skills by the end of this week, I will check up on you both to see how you have progressed, until then you are both relieved of active duty, you are dismissed"

Kakashi and Amaya just stared at the blonde Hokage, she lifted one eyebrow at them.

"Yes?" she drawled "can I help you?"

Kakashi snapped his jaw shut at her honeyed tone, he know it was a bad idea to take the bait. Amaya didn't seem to have that knowledge, either that or she was too angry to care.

"Permission to speak freely _Hokage-sama?_"

Tsunade nodded.

"OK, it's bad enough that you have not only paired me up with someone, but with the laziest jounin Konoha has ever produced, and a top rank pervert to boot. _Now_ you're telling me I have to_ live_ with said pervert. I will admit that I was thinking maybe I could get through working closely with someone else after this afternoon, but I _can't_ live with someone, let alone a man" Amaya took a deep breath as she finished her tirade. One of Tsunade's eyebrows twitched in annoyance, she was not used to having anyone question her ideas.

"Very well Amaya-_sama,_" she made the honorific at the end of her name sound more like an insult, "I am making this an official order. You two _will_ live together, you _will_ learn each other's eccentricities and quirks, and you two _**will do as you are told.**__"_ She slammed her hands down on the solid wooden desk before her, the force causing the wood to split with an audible crack, paperwork sliding off to flutter to the floor. Tsunade's eyes flashed with amber fire as her gaze met Amaya's nervous malachite ones.

Amaya's eyes dropped first in supplication, "Hai Hokage-sama". She sounded utterly defeated. Kakashi felt a slight twinge, this wasn't right, the Amaya he had gotten to know over the last two years never got depressed or beaten. Maybe this was a testament to what had happened a week ago at the ANBU Headquarters.

"Come on Amaya-chan, unfortunately for me my apartment only has one bedroom, so it looks like I will be in your spare room for a while." He tried to smile, but with her head lowered she didn't see his attempt. He opened the door for her "Well you go home first and get everything you need ready. I will head to my apartment and collect what I need. I should be about half an hour after you."

She nodded. Kakashi made a couple of quick hand seals and disappeared. Amaya's shoulders slumped even further as the full weight of their meeting hit her. Shaking her head, she climbed out of the window at the top of the stairs and jumped across the roofs, through the tall gates, into the forest, and home.

Kakashi reappeared at the base of the Hokage tower. He started walking towards town and his apartment, deep in thought about what he would need to take. He didn't know how long this was going to last - Tsunade had failed to give them a time frame for that - nor for how long they were both going to be off active duty. He sighed, shoving his fists into his pockets.

He sensed a familiar chakra up ahead.

"Konnichiwa Kaka-sensei!" Sakura stepped out of the weapons store and waved to him, he gave the slight kunoichi an eye crinkle.

"Konnichiwa Sakura-chan, how are you today? Are you not supposed to be at the hospital?"

Sakura laughed," No Sensei, you know I _do_ get time off now and then from the hospital" She cocked her head at him, glancing up curiously. "What about you? Is your partnership going alright?" Truth was, she was worried about Amaya. The woman had been through so much it wasn't fair to force her through this as well and Sakura's nurturing side came through full-force when she felt someone needing protecting even from themselves.

"She is a very capable kunoichi" Kakashi gave in a monotone voice "she is strong, eager to learn new jutsus and improve her current ones, but she is vehemently against this partnership, and I don't blame her. As impressive as the jutsus we could learn are, it isn't right to force us together this much, we both prefer our own space"

Sakura gaped at her former teacher, "What do you mean? 'Force you together' has Tsunade-Shisou…"

"Yes, she has ordered that we are to live together", Kakashi interrupted her, his jaw clenching, "now if you will excuse me, I have to go and get some things packed" he pulled his faithful book out of his pouch, and gave Sakura a wave over his shoulder as he walked away. Sakura seethed with anger at what her mentor was doing, she would have to find out exactly what the elder blonde was up to, and soon.

Amaya felt nervous. She couldn't understand it, she was getting butterflies! She was still angry but now she felt flustered as well. She had never lived with a guy before, except for her father. Was Kakashi going to expect her to do all the cleaning? The cooking? Would he think her simple house was too small? Too big? He did live in a small apartment after all. She made up the spare futon, pulling some dark blue linens out from the cupboard then opened the window to let the air circulate.

She got some coat hangers from her own wardrobe and hung them in his then checked through the drawers and made sure they were empty, tucking the spare scrolls she found under one arm and dumping them on her bed to sort through later. Satisfied that his room was tidy she went into the front room and plopped onto the squishy couch, picking up the book she had been trying to read.

A knock woke her from the sleep she had fallen in. She snorted as she awakened and, looking about quickly, she realized it was getting quite dark outside. "_what time was it?_" She glanced at the wall clock and realized she had been sleeping for about 2 and a half hours, "shit!"

She then realized that Kakashi had said he was going to be half an hour, where was he? She heard the knock again? Springing up she padded to the front door. Kakashi was standing there with his arms full; a bag slung across his back, a large box full of Kami-knows-what, and a take-out box from Ichiraku Ramen balancing on top.

"Can you give me a hand" came the muffled voice from somewhere behind the pile. jumping forward, Amaya realized she had been just standing there staring at him struggling. She grabbed the ramen box and carefully slid the bag from his shoulder then she placed the food in the kitchen and beckoned him to follow her to his room.

"That is the bathroom there", she pointed to the door at the end of the corridor,

"this is my room", pointing to the door to the left "and this is your room".

She opened the door and allowed him to step through first, then put his bag down next to the doorway. "I will let you get settled then. Let me know if you need anything; I will be in the front room relaxing." She walked stiffly out of the room and back to the sofa and her book,

She was just starting to get immersed again, trying to ignore Kakashi as he pottered about in the kitchen, when suddenly a bowl of barbequed pork ramen was shoved under her nose.

"Here, I assumed you have only eaten what you made for our lunch today"

Amaya stared at him, before carefully taking the bowl from him. She murmured her thanks before her stomach growled very loudly - demanding the food _now_! Kakashi just chuckled as she blushed, embarrassed by her body's reactions. He sat down next to her, and turning slightly away, he pulled his mask down and began to eat.

She then remembered that she still had on the borrowed mask from this afternoon. She blushed again at what he and everyone else must think, seeing her wearing _his_ mask. She turned her back to him and untied the mask then ate her food quickly and quietly before wrapping her face with her bandages again.

"Arigato Kakashi-san, I guess with all the _fun_ today I forgot I was hungry. Oh, and before I forget again, here is the mask you loaned me this afternoon."

She offered the scrap of silky fabric to him. When he didn't reach out to take it she placed it on his lap instead. Standing, she picked up his empty bowl and walked into the kitchen to clean the dishes, anything to get away from the male, and the blushes that seemed determined to undermine her right now. What the hell was wrong with her today? Well now that she wasn't wearing his mask, no one needed to have inappropriate thoughts about the situation. Now if she could just work out a way to make this situation bearable she might be able to relax properly.

Amaya woke up to the beautiful bird song as usual, then she smiled as she remembered she didn't have any duties today. Stretching cat-like, arching her back and feeling the satisfying cracks her neck and back made, she stood up and wandered to the bathroom for complete her morning ablutions, brush her teeth and have her shower. She smiled as she remembered the solution she came up with last night, while laying in the dark listening to the crickets sing, Tsunade may have ordered them to live as house mates, but she also said she didn't have to spend all her time here. She had a half-formed plan, one that involved an excruciating exercise and training regime. She knew it was gonna be tough, but once Tsunade said they weren't improving as she hopped maybe she would back off and leave her alone. On the plus side she would get stronger as a direct result, so Tsunade couldn't get too angry could she?

She smiled deviously as she took her shower, the feeling of the water and soap making her skin slick. With the scent of Jasmine and gardenias thick in the air, she stepped out of the shower, rubbed herself quickly with a towel, and glared critically at herself in the mirror. Leaning forward, she dragged a finger down the side of her face, mapping out the curve of her cheek bone down to the small pointed chin which, combined with her wide eyes, gave her a slightly innocent look, though the hardness in her eyes betrayed the fact she was more then a little worldly. She used her thumb to trace her bottom lip, feeling the calloused digit snag at the delicate skin. Having her face covered meant it was protected from the elements, leaving her skin baby soft and smooth.

She was lucky the only scar she had on her face was a tiny one that bisected her covered eyebrow. It was barely noticeable but it was a reminder of the night she had fought for her life and the lives of her villagers. Slightly rough hands trailed further down, inspecting the pale flesh. She could almost remember each and every scar she carried. The one from her collar bone to the edge of her shoulder blade she got form falling out of a tree when she and Fuyu were 9 and trying to practice tree running before having proper chakra training. She had misjudged her footing and crashed through the canopy. Fuyu had panicked, his sight had already faded so badly he could only see light and dark shades, and he was worried that she was lying about how badly injured she was.

Amaya smiled and moved onto the next significant scar. This one was on her upper arm on the opposite side, it was from a misjudged kunai when she was 12. The next one was the scar around her areola, her fingers stopping just short of touching it, a small gasp as she remembered receiving that one. She roughly forced that memory to the back of her mind.

Sliding her hands down her ribs and fim stomach, she admired how toned she was. She was sleek and powerful, comparable to a big cat. She didn't envy women that were well endowed, like Hinata and Ino, that must be more of a hindrance than it was worth. She liked her shape, slender but definitely feminine.

She wrapped her face before pulling on her baggy grey sweat pants and matching grey crop tank top. She wandered out of the bathroom, rubbing her hair with the towel before tossing it into the wash basket next to her bedroom door. She went to prepare her breakfast. She would have something to eat before getting dressed properly, and then possibly look over some jutsus scrolls before deciding how she was going to train today. Satisfied, she made some tea and toast, grabbed some scrolls on water elementary jutsu, and began to read.

When she heard the front door open and close she looked up curiously. She hadn't heard Kakashi get up or get ready? She then realized that he was coming in, not going out. Where had he been? She had been up for nearly an hour and hadn't heard him at all since she woke. She had assumed he was still in bed, seeing how the man was always late.

"Ohayo Amaya-chan, I see you're finally awake"

"What do you mean 'finally'? Its only 9am and I don't have any duties today"

"Maa maa Amaya-chan, I'm not meaning to upset you." He held his hands up to try and calm her a bit "what have you got planned for your day off then?" He sat down next to her at the breakfast bar, stealing a slice of her toast.

Scowling, she replied. "I have some private training to catch up with, so I'm going to be pretty busy for the rest of the day, what about you"

"Well I was hoping that we could train together, but seeing as you already have something planned I suppose I will go to the bookstore and see if they have the newest Icha Icha Paradise in stock yet" He nodded, happy with his plans and almost drooling at the idea of getting the smooth new book under his finger tips and spending the rest of the day hiding away with his new treasure.

"Well have fun today Kakashi-san, I will see you later on"

She stood, dropped her plate and cup in the sink and heading out to the training grounds with the intention to train herself so hard she would either collapse there or she would sleep through this nightmare.

Kakashi shook his head at her receding back before pulling down his mask and taking a bite of the stolen toast.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Sensei ~ Teacher**

**Ohayo ~ Good Morning**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu ~ Demonic Illusion: Double False Surroundings Technique**


	8. Chapter 7, Repercussions

**A/N Yay! my first review! I'm so freaking excited now. Feels like a real story now haha, so thank you again Momokobo. As usual shout outs and thanks to my beta and proof readers, Againstnormal, Pazzesca and Bryan, you three are super awesome! A massive HUGE thanks to my readers, yeah that's right YOU guys.**

**This story is rated M for violence, and later on lots of lime and a lemon or two**

**~Disclaimer~ I do not own Naruto. Kishi-sama any time you decide to get rid of your ninjas, let me know, I will buy Kakashi from you ;)**

Chapter 7 Repercussions 

Sweat pouring down her back and stomach, she bent over, hands on her knees panting heavily. She could feel the strong ache starting in her muscles already - the ones that told you that you had been having a great work out. She dropped down onto the torn grass and gazed at the destruction her training had caused; uprooted trees, craters, and rents filled with water - absolute chaos. She took a deep breath, commanding her aching lungs and pounding heart to slow down.

Glancing at the sky she judged it to be around 6 or 7 pm. She had been training since she left the house that morning with only a quick lunch break and the long muscles along her back were crying out in hot pain from over-exertion.

She stood up and began some slow stretches to cool down her body; it would be time to go home soon. She would maybe take a quick walk into town first though, to grab something to eat. The longer she was out the better. Maybe this time Kakashi would either be asleep or so engrossed in his 'erotic literature' that he wouldn't think to send her the dirty looks she had been receiving.

On the second day of their enforced imprisonment he had attempted to talk to her to arrange a meeting time for sparring. She had turned round and snarled in his face that she was too busy to mess around, _she_ needed to train. Just because he was special, with his sharingan eye, and could copy anything instantly did not mean the rest of them could. She had spun on her heel and stormed out slamming the door.

After kicking down a few trees she started to feel very guilty. It wasn't exactly Kakashi's fault they were in this situation; she shouldn't take it out on him. She had headed back early and prepared lunch for him and waited to apologise. She waited and waited. Finally she had gone into town to look for him and, using her enhanced chakra nose, she had found him in a low-rent bar with his arm round a cow of a civilian.

Said cow was blinking up with big brown eyes and mooing gently into his ear. Amaya glared at the sight before turning to storm off. So much for her feeling bad, he obviously didn't care enough to be upset so why should she care. Yet if she didn't care then why did she find herself imaging it was_ him_ when she was smashing her small fist into the trees' rough bark? She growled at herself. Well at any rate, if he wasn't there then at least she wouldn't feel the need to constantly barb him. She smirked as she remembered their last exchange.

_*sigh*_

"_Amaya-san, we need to talk. We are supposed to be working together, yet all you do is train"_

"_I'm sorry your highness, King of Sharingan. I didn't realize what I had been doing every day since you first came here didn't come under 'training' in your language." She glared at him, and he could almost feel himself burning under the green fire of her eyes._

"_Maya please, can you not do this" He shook his head while he frowned down at her, "I don't like this any more than you, but we have to"_

"_Who said I didn't like this? I love training till I pass out, even better if I sprain and tear something, hey? But you 'oh mighty one' you don't even need to get your pretty nails dirty to learn a new jutsu do you?"_

"_Hey! That's not fair Amaya" He was starting to get angry, sick of the constant insults and from feeling uncomfortable. He couldn't understand why she wasn't even trying. Did the village really mean that little to her? Her comrades? "I didn't ask for this eye to be implanted, and for your information I do still train, there is no point learning how to do a new jutsu if I'm not fit enough to actually use it"_

"_Whatever, Kakashi. Look, you've already said you're not happy here so, tell you what, you leave me to try and improve my skills and you fuck off back to your bar with you little breeding cow and let her suck you off. Just don't sit moping round here PMSing in my face all the tim__e. Oh, and don't call me Maya - the only people close enough to call me that are dead and you have not earned that honour."_

_He simply stared at her as she started raising her voice and getting angry. He looked incredulous, angry, disappointed, and she thought she saw hurt there as well._

_Then he had left the house and when he came back, hours later, he was stinking of cheap drink and even cheaper perfume._

She had definitely hit a nerve with him that night.

She noticed that the clouds looked heavy and fat with rain again. Maybe she would skip town tonight and cook something quick to eat in her room. She could read up on the jutsu scrolls she'd borrowed from the library. Nodding to herself, she jumped into the trees and ran for home.

The lights were all off when she got home. She went into the kitchen, where she found a bowl of miso and eggplant was sitting on the side, with a note in Kakashi's sharp handwriting:

_Microwave for 3 mins add the extras and microwave for another min_

_Won't be back till much later_

_Kakashi_

She sighed. As much as she wanted to hate him, it was hard when he did little things like that, though feeding her was probably Sakura's idea not his. Sakura had caught her in town 3 days ago. She had clucked like a mother hen healing her bruises, cuts and scrapes, even healing her thigh muscle which she had over-stretched the previous day. She went on and on about taking it easy and making sure she ate enough, after all she had just 'recovered from a trauma.' Amaya was feeling sick of people treating her like glass right now too. She felt aggressive and angry all the time and it was taking it out of her emotionally; she felt drained.

She heated the soup, per Kakashi's instructions, grabbed a water jutsu scroll and went to her room. She smiled in contentment as she ate the first mouthful; as annoying as he was, Kakashi was a damn fine cook - he would make someone a great wife! She sniggered at her own joke before settling back into her pillows, bowl of soup on her stomach and scroll in her hands reading.

Someone decided at that moment to hammer on her front door. She considered ignoring them but decided against it - they wouldn't go away quickly enough and at least face to face she could find out what they wanted and get them the hell outta there. Growling, she yanked open the door to find herself almost nose to nose with a furious Hokage.

"Where the **HELL** have you been?" The taller blonde woman glared down at Amaya, who suddenly felt herself trying to shrink even further. She advanced into the small house, fists clenched and shaking with fury. "You are supposed to be _building_ bonds, not trying to _destroy them"_

Amaya stuttered, trying to get her tongue to work.

"H-H-Hokage-sama, I have been training. I've been extremely busy. I've improved in all forms of Ninjutsu's. I've.."

"**Not done what you were ordered to do.**" The blonde took another step towards the shaking Jounin.

"I asked you to do this for the good of the village You and Kakashi are two of some the best ninjas we have available, except **you** don't trust others so are hard to place on a team to take advantage of your skills, and Kakashi, though he has some excellent jutsus he has a limited amount of chakra and keeps nearly killing himself."

I have given you both a week to make even the smallest improvement and instead you have done the exact opposite of what I said - Instead of spending time with your partner you have gone off and done your own thing, and **don't** try to deny it, several people have seen you, either training in the forest or wandering about town, and not once have they seen you two together"

Both women whipped round as they heard someone politely clear their throat at the doorway.

"Ah Kakashi, you're here finally" Tsunade turned her amber eyes towards him.

"Hokage-sama, if I may interject" he walked into the room to stand between the two woman. He could see the Hokage getting angrier by the minute and Amaya's quivering only seemed to acerbate her more. He needed to stop them before it turned into a bloodbath. "Tsunade-hime with all due respect, Amaya is not the only one at fault here, I am too"

Tsunade raised a honey eyebrow "How so Kakashi? Did you tell her to train from dawn to dusk? Perhaps it was you that told her to wander around town instead of coming home? Maybe you told her to go and spend hours in the library instead? " She knew Kakashi was trying to protect the small woman, but she listened to him as he continued.

"No Hokage, I did not do any of those things, but the fact of the matter is I am Amaya's partner. When she came home covered in bruises I should have at least tried to help her heal those. I knew where she was training and I didn't go to stop her or to try and join in with her. I nearly came to you to request a different partner three days ago, but I changed my mind,"

"Why did you change your mind" this was nearly whispered from behind him, he turned to regard his diminutive partner huddled at his back.

He gave a short bark of laughter, "Canine logic, the strength of the pack is its members. While me and you both prefer being solo's, if we work together we can both become stronger for it, as individuals and as a pack" He smiled gently as her eyes slowly looked up at him, he hadn't realized how close to crying she had been while the Hokage screamed at her, the only sign was the unshed tears. She ducked her head again before muttering "arigato."

The Hokage clicked her tongue. "That doesn't fix the fact that what you have _both_ done is very close to all out insubordination"

"Hai Hokage-sama. Gomen for what I did, it was stupid of me, but I feel so angry right now. I don't know what to do anymore, I feel confused." Tsunade's eyes soften as she looked at the dark haired woman, admitting how she was feeling was a big step. She had expected anger and lashing out, she just expected it more in a normal form of drinking and bar fights which are easy to resolve.

Amaya scrunched her face up as she felt the feelings threaten to overwhelm her. "It's almost like there is someone else living in my body, controlling me. All I feel is intense anger, and rage, frustration. If I had my choice I would ask you to send me out on the hardest solo mission you could. One that is likely to end in a lot of bloodshed - I _want_ to hurt something, I _want_ to cause pain, and it scares me"

She looked up at the village leader, her eyes huge and pleading. "I'm training as much as I physically can as well, and instead of relieving the pressure I'm left feeling even angrier"

Tsunade nodded in understanding. "It is expected that you will have conflicted feelings right now, especially after what you have been through. If I thought it would be better I would have paired you with a female, but unfortunately the females here don't suit you well. Kakashi may come across as closed off emotionally when it counts but he is extremely loyal. He will also try to help you better yourself; you could learn a lot from him, and not just ninjutsu, but emotion control too." Kakashi stared at the Hokage out of the side of his eye.

"Well I know it's kind of late Amaya, but if I heal your current wounds and, Kakashi, if I speed up your metabolic rate to burn off that alcohol, will you two spar for me in the clearing so I can judge your team work as it is?"

Both jounins bowed with a resounding "Hai"

Tsunade beckoned Kakashi over to the sofa and bade him sit down. "I will sort Kakashi out first, he needs some time for his body to process the alcohol even at a speeded up rate. Amaya-san I will see to you in a few minutes"

"Of course Hokage-sama. Can I interest you in a drink Tsunade-hime? Tea? Coffee? Sake?"

Tsunade's eyes lit up at the mention of sake, "Arigato Amaya-san that would be very nice"

"Kakashi, green tea for you?" He grunted in affirmation. Amaya went to the kitchen and prepared the tea for Kakashi, and a cup of Sake for Tsunade. After serving, she went through to her room and brought out the uneaten bowl of miso and the scroll she had been reading before. Sitting cross legged in the middle of the front room floor with the scroll opened in front of her, she hunched over her food and ate while reading.

"What 'you reading?" a deep voice ghosted into her ear, causing her to jump slightly. She was so absorbed she hadn't realized that Tsunade had finished with Kakashi, who had been leaning over her shoulder reading her scroll.

"Well" she squeaking, she coughed to clear her throat "Well, it's a scroll on Water element jutsus and theory and practice. Your affinity is lightning, correct? Mine is water, which means neither of us has an advantage over the other, elementary wise. There are records of jutsus that require more than one element combined to produce, Yamato's Mokuton being a prime example"

Kakashi nodded. He was so close his hair tickled the side of her forehead. She shifted in her seat feeling slightly uncomfortable with the fact that he was in her personal space.

"Now you can't do these kinda jutsus unless you have a kekkei genkai that allows you to combine them, like Kotetsu and Izuma told us, so most people would get around it by adding one element to another - usually ones that enhance each other - so wind would enhance fire, but water enhances lightening. If we want to produce similar jutsus to the ones those two did, we are already surprisingly well suited, element wise, to each other"

He chuckled, his breath dancing across the skin of her neck and causing the small hairs to stand. "Very impressive, Amaya-chan, but how do you propose we make a new jutsu like those two did?"

Tsunade spoke up. "Kakashi move out of the way, I need to heal Amaya now."

Amaya nearly shuddered at the loss of heat as Kakashi obliged.

"Well Kakashi-san, I've been thinking and I saw how Kotetsu and Izuma used the most basic forms to create the right conditions for the final jutsu." She sighed as she felt Tsunade's cooling chakra seep into her muscles, repairing the small tears and scratches she had, soothing the knots and bruises.

"We need to work out what _our_ right conditions are. I remember Sasuke's full body chidori being described. He turned his _body_ into the right condition. I was thinking maybe a water spout, which you electrify, would be basic form."

She started to look thoughtful and mumbled quietly to herself. The other two just watched her bemusedly while she figured out the pro's and con's of all her ideas: "No, not a water funnel, once you zapped it I would get fried too, we need something that isn't physically touching either of us… maybe getting the ground wet? No, an enemy would see what we were doing and simply jump away and the element of surprise is gone. OH!"

She turned shinning eyes to Kakashi, "you know water jutsus right?" He nodded. "Can you think of any that would envelope an enemy; it doesn't have to hold them, just as long as it would surround and touch the person we are fighting"

"I can think of at least three, though one may be a bit risky, but if pulled off right it could be devastating"

Tsunade and Amaya sat and waited for him to continue.

"Oh, you want to know which ones?"

"Yes, and if you can teach me them?"

"OK the first is a tornado of water. You get it spinning and send it to your enemy and when it hits it envelopes them. Most people don't dodge them as they are low level jutsus normally used to disrupt someone making hand seals. The next is a water prison. You make it and trap the enemy. I would put my hand in and you remove yours, then I pass chidori through it."

The third is the risky one, as we could get caught in it as well. I may be able to teach you the hidden mist village's secret jutsu. You create a thick mist, it's normally used for concealment and espionage. Now try to imagine what would happen if we electrified that mist with a platoon of enemy nins in it."

Kakashi's and Amaya's grins matched each other in bloody delight at the last idea.

"How would we manage it? I mean, I know the basics, I would make the mist but can it be controlled? Like how far it moves? How dense? Can I shape it like a cloud? How would you electrify it? Can you throw chidori? Can we develop something similar to the Rasengan? Possibly infuse it with Lightening chakra instead?"

Ideas and questions kept spewing out her mouth.

"Maa maa Amaya-chan, calm down" Kakashi was grinning by now. Finally she seemed to have regained the spark she had lost over the last couple of weeks. "We will see if you can produce a mist first, and then we will start to experiment."

"Well it seems you two have your work cut out for you?" Tsunade smiled, it seemed this might work after all, "If you don't mind I would love to observe you both."

The pair shook their heads, it would be an honour having the Hokage herself watching them train.

"Ano, Hokage-sama, I thought you wanted to watch us sparring?"

Tsunade smiled. "This is much more interesting, and almost exactly what I had in mind when I paired you two."

The excited Jounins bowed to the blonde again.

"This way Hokage-sama."

The three Konoha nins walked through the forest, Kakashi and Amaya silent in thought, Tsunade feeling excitement at what may happen. All three were feeling relaxed now. The tension that was so thick before seemed to dissipate around them in the warm evening light.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Kekkei Genkai ~ blood line limit or a special justu that is passed down by genetics and cant be learned or copied.  
**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Miso ~ Japanese soup (really yummy, really easy to make you should try it hehe)**

The next chapter will published on Friday. until then have a great weekend and a fantastic week.**  
**


	9. Chapter 8, Water and Lightning

**A/N So sorry its late guys and my proof reader still hasn't returned this weeks chapter either, So I am looking for a new proof reader all I need is someone with a critical eye for punctuation and spelling (preferably English UK) PM me if you are interested.**

**Anyway! as always HUGE thanks to your guys! my readers. A huge thanks to my beta reader Agasintnormal and my loyal first fan/poof reader Pazzesca. and thanks to my other proof reader Bryan! hopefully you wont be busy for much longer as your normally a great proofer**

**Do I really need a disclimer at the start of each chapter? If I didn't own Naruto at the start I still dont now. Sad state of affairs I know *sigh*  
**

Chapter 8 Water and Lightning

He had worked her hard. She had forgotten that she had already trained the entire day already and in her excitement she totally forgot her chakra depletion. Amaya hadn't wanted to be seen as weak, so when her vision started to blur she dug deeper into her reserves and pulled her head together. When she stumbled over her own feet she tried to laugh it off, even though Kakashi and Tsunade looked at her suspiciously. But when she blacked out it was Kakashi that caught her and immediately started walking home, her prone figure in his arms with a smile on her lips.

That was four days ago. Kakashi had shown her how to produce the mist; it was hard work trying to contain it though. They discovered it was far too corporeal to control properly; all they could do was stop it spreading too far. Amaya had gone to sleep thinking of the problem and last night had dreamed of an answer. Kakashi was amused, to say the least, to be awoken by the excited kunoichi. She was talking fast, gesturing a lot. She sat down on the edge of his bed and looked at him expectantly, "Well? What do you think?"

Kakashi sat up, stretching his arms above his head. His spine and neck cracking and popping, "I'm sorry Amaya-chan I didn't catch that, can you repeat it please?"

He really liked it when she was this excited, as her whole face (well, what could be seen over her bandages) lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

She turned to face him, tucking one leg under her.

"Well, I was thinking about how trying to form the mist into any shape would be pretty hard unless you add wind to it, and it's hard enough making mist without trying to do wind jutsus as well as your lightning, and I started thinking maybe if we made the mist more viscous. I know you can make the mist thicker and thinner but how thick have you made it before?"

"Could we do it so it's so thick it's like trying to swim through the air? I've also been thinking what jutsu you are going to be using, all we have focused on is my own. Maybe I would come up with something better if I knew what you had up your sleeve. I know you can't throw lightning per se, but you can do a lightning hound cant you? Could you use that to electrify a mist?"

Kakashi leaned back onto his pillow thinking. He hadn't really thought about what he was going to do. They had been so focused on what _she_ was doing they'd kind of forgot.

"That's a good point. And yes, the lightning hound would be my best attack for this collaboration." He rubbed his eyes, "I will go make breakfast for us, then I have something to do for a couple of hours. I will be back about 10 and we can train, OK?"

"Hai Kakashi-san" She gave him a curious look, before turning it into a huge grin that he could see over her bandages, "I will grab the first shower then"

She jumped off his bed and practically skipped through to the bathroom. Kakashi just chuckled to himself. The last few days had been pretty damn good. Amaya had calmed down a lot - she certainly wasn't acting like a frightened animal - but nor was she being an amazing bitch. However, that didn't mean this was the same Amaya as before. This one still seemed quite fragile to him, like she was a shell made of the finest glass that would shatter under the slightest tap.

He could tell already from her eyes what most of her moods were now. She was very good at putting on fake emotion, and he now realized that a lot of the smiles he had seen the previous two years had been fake - especially now he had seen some genuine ones. Although the fake ones reached her eyes, her eyes didn't sparkle in the same way.

He walked into the kitchen, grabbed some eggs and started to makes some omelettes. He heard the shower turn off after a couple more minutes, and the warm smell of steam mixed with Amaya's scent filled the room. As he was sliding the eggs onto a plate and setting it down on the breakfast bar Amaya came through, fully dressed and rubbing a towel through her hair.

She sat down. "Itadakimasu" she said before tucking in. They had both gotten used to the other as their eating habits were similar; there was no small talk during meal times. They sat beside each other, each facing slightly away so the other could enjoy their privacy,

Kakashi finished first. "I'm going to go for a shower, then I'm heading out. I will be back in a few hours though. Don't do too much chakra training because we may need our full strength to test out some theories." He patted her on the shoulder as he walked past to go get washed and dressed.

After she jumped up from Kakashi's bed and ran into the bathroom, Amaya turned on the shower and, while she waited for it to heat up, she stared into the mirror as she removed her bandages, deep in thought; She felt strange. Amaya stepped into the shower, sighing as the hot water hit her aching muscles - this training was going to kill her.

She giggled quietly to herself. Shaking her head, she tried to look at what was happening from a different angle. Her first impulse when she woke up had been to go and speak to Kakashi. She never even gave a second thought to walking into his bedroom, where he could have been sleeping _naked. _Not only did she wake him up, she then sat on _his bed,_ what the hell had gotten into her? It wasn't like her to invade anyone's personal space like that.

She supposed it was just because they were living so close together now, wasn't this what the Hokage wanted? She wanted them so close that they were intimately familiar with each other. Not as in a relationship, necessarily, but close enough to know what the other was thinking, and to not feel those twinges of impropriety at over-stepping one's boundaries with the other.

As she washed her hair, she scrubbed all thoughts of Kakashi out her head and replaced them with jutsu ideas. Raising a slender hand palm up, she focused her chakra into her palm letting it gather and swirl, pulling the shower water into its apex until a miniature water spout was dancing in her hand. She smiled at the simple beauty of it, pleased; a new idea blossomed in her mind.

Grinning, she quickly finished in the shower and jumped out, towelling her body off quickly before sprinting into her room to get dressed. She walked through to the front room and stopped dead when she spotted Kakashi in the kitchen. He was standing there in a form-fitting sleeveless black top with attached mask, and loose training pants, which were so low-slung she could see flesh peeping out. It was the smallest bit of skin, but it was enough to make her feel very hungry suddenly. Those two dimples sitting on his narrow hips and just above his… She shook her head hard. "_What the hell was __**that**_?" She began vigorously rubbing her hair dry, purposely covering her face with her towel so Kakashi couldn't see the faint blush that had appeared above her bandages, relieved that he was heading straight out and wouldn't be back again for hours. Amaya breathed deeply once she heard the front door close.

It wasn't until after she had cleaned the breakfast dishes away that she remembered that she had wanted to tell Kakashi her idea.

"_Damnit, Me and my twisted mind_" She sighed heavily. He had said not to use her chakra, but she wanted to see if this would work _now_ while it was still fresh in her mind. Where did he go anyway? She had meant to ask, but it never seemed important enough until now. She sat on the sofa and picked up her book but couldn't concentrate. Maybe she should trail him next time; Kami knows, she needed to refresh her espionage skills.

She sniggered at the thought of her tip-toeing behind him while he went about his business, shopping for groceries and whatnot. She considered tracking him down but banished that thought as soon as it appeared. She really shouldn't be thinking like this, what if it was the other way round? How would she feel if he had been stalking _her_?

OK, she couldn't use jutsus until he returned, so that meant training was out for the next few hours. She was too distracted to read properly as well. Suddenly she came to a decision. He was gonna be back later, she had time to do something nice; maybe she would get the chance to apologise for her horrible behaviour before.

Smiling, she stood up and went to get her money. She would make them a nice picnic style lunch. If she was quick enough she could get most of the shopping done and be nearly finished cooking by 10 o'clock, which would give the food time to cool properly and be packed away. It also meant she would have the opportunity to talk to him about her ideas without invading his personal space and his room again. She sped out the door, a shopping list in her head and a smile on her face.

A couple of hours later, Amaya had nearly finished chopping the last of the fruit she'd bought. She made a chilled wintermelon and shrimp soup - perfect for the weather they had been having recently, some cold soba noodles and dipping sauce, and was finishing a fresh fruit salad with anko. She started singing quietly to herself, feeling perfectly relaxed and at peace.

"_I wonder if I will get more days like this one? So far it's been really good_." She smiled as she tossed the fruit together in the sharp syrup.

She had turned and was stretching as far as she could to try and reach the bowls on the top shelves, "_Nearly there_." Reaching as far as she could, her fingertips just brushing the smooth sides of the bowls, she lifted one knee on to the unit and was about to use it to lever herself higher.

"Yo."

Amaya squealed and nearly fell off the side unit. She hadn't heard Kakashi come in.

"Here let me help you." He easily grabbed the bowls and handed them to her with a bemused look in his eye. Amaya grabbed the bowls and huffed loudly, "And just how long have you been standing there watching me struggle?" she placed the bowls down and put her hands on her hips, scowling up at him.

"Not long Amaya-chan," He gave her a smile. He had gotten quite a good look really. The further she reached, the higher her top went. He chuckled in his head at how flustered she was as well.

"Well I thought I would make us a treat. Look, I know we have an hour or two to kill before lunch, so why don't you go relax, then in an hour's time we can go to the clearing, have our lunch there, and get started on those jutsus?"

She bent down to grab the picnic basket out of one of the lower cupboards, and began to put the food neatly in, she looked out everything they would need, even a flask of cold green tea and four bottles of frozen water for after their sparring that she kept in the fridge and the freezer.

Once finished, she walked into the front room. Kakashi wasn't there and she was a bit confused until she heard the sound of the shower. "_Oh yeah, he didn't have time for a shower this morning. Well, that's more time for me to chill_."

She sat back on the sofa with her feet up, watching the little sparrows flitting about on the branches outside the window. Her eyes felt quite heavy until Kakashi was shaking her gently awake. He was dressed in black again, his damp hair falling over his Hitae-ate.

"Are you OK Amaya-chan?"

"Hnnmph." She replied muzzily. She stretched. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep. I was watching the birds while waiting for you. Are you ready to go now?"

He nodded and pointed to the picnic basket that he had moved and left near the front door.

"After you, Hime."

He hefted the basket up and they both walked to the clearing further into the forest.

After eating their lunch, and quite a few compliments from Kakashi - the soup being his new favourite, they both stood and began their warm up exercises. Flexing. Stretching. Bending. Doing high kicks and low punches. Amaya doing some back flips and somersaults. Kakashi dropping to do push ups and sit ups.

Amaya called over to the silver haired shinobi." I was doing some thinking in the shower this morning."

"hnn?" All kinds of filthy images immediately sprang to his mind then he berated himself internally, blaming it on Icha Icha for warping him.

"Well I was playing around with the water in there; I can already make pretty good water spouts. I can produce mist when there is no water around as well, so I'm wondering if I can make water spouts with no water."

Kakashi smiled widely at her, "There are some jutsus. I was thinking about showing you some today. What did you have in mind for these water spouts?"

"Well" Amaya looked at him; she was currently bent in half, her forehead flush against her knees, peeking through her legs at her partner. "I have been thinking about how Kotetsu and Izuma produced their jutsu. They didn't produce one element and add another to it, they produced two separate jutsus and merged them to make a totally new one. They also did their jutsus at the same time. Having me make a mist and then you electrify it, though it's a very good technique, it's not a unique complete jutsu."

Kakashi nodded at this, her points all making sense.

"So you're suggesting we combine at the same time. That wouldn't work with the mist because it needs to be made and then you and I need to jump clear from it. Come sit on my back please, I need some resistance work, I can think at the same time."

Amaya straightened, walked over and perched, cross legged, in the middle of his back. "Is this high enough Kakashi?"

He grunted in affirmation and resumed his press ups.

"OK, well we need to find a way to fuse mine and your elements together. I wonder if calling forth an elementary dragon would work like it did for them?"

Amaya's eyes went wide. "Do you really think we could summon a water and lightning dragon? Wow! Now that would be awesome."

"Well first let's concentrate on simple forms like hounds. If you can make water clones then you should be able to make a hound out of water as it's similar."

They got to work. Amaya got the hang of Clones quickly, and soon enough she had made a small water hound as well.

"Now here is the difficult bit, a water dragon requires 44 hand seals, but a fire dragon requires only one. We will need to find out which seals are needed, a lot may be intuition. Did you notice that Kotetsu and Izuma's dragon only needed 10 seals? The reason a water dragon needs so many is because they are hard to form, a lightning one is even harder, with wind being the most difficult and fire the easiest. From what I have observed, I think the hand seals needed will fall roughly between the numbers for the two separate elements. Plus we need the correct seals for that element. For instance, the tiger seal is needed for fire."

He lifted his hands into the tiger seal and breathed out a fire dragon with a shout of "Katon: Gōryūka no Jutsu". Amaya grinned at the pure power of the jutsu as it flew up and faded into the blue sky above.

He lifted his hands again and threw the seals for a lightning dragon. It roared and crackled. Giving himself a small secret smile at the entranced look on Amaya's face he was half tempted to keep showing off.

"Well, since I won't be making a water dragon, per se, I don't need to learn the jutsu, Just yet." She grinned at her last words. "You will teach me that soon though."

Kakashi gave her a nod. "Kotetsu and Izuma used two very low level jutsus. They basically just caused the correct conditions, which was wet earth. We need to create _our _correct condition, which will be electrified water, and then infuse our chakras at the same time and test out different seals until we get it right."

Kakashi grinned, they were getting close, he could feel it; these last two weeks were definitely not for nothing after all.

"OK, can you soak something? Hmmm, hang on." He flipped some more seals, the earth rumbled a bit and a bowl shaped rock began to push its way out of the ground. "Here, can you fill this with water? I will shock it and if you keep focusing your chakra on it I want you to try all the seals while there is still a current going through it."

Amaya nodded and filled the natural bowl to the middle. She did as asked and made all the seals as quickly as she could.

"I felt the chakra in the bowl flare slightly when you used the ram seal. I am going to shock the water again, start with ram and do all the seals again."

"Hai, Kashi-san."

They continued in this pattern until Amaya had a string of 50 seals worked out.

"Now Amaya-chan, when I shock the water I'm going to go through the seals with you this time, we are looking for a large surge in the chakra flowing through the water."

He hit the liquid with a large bolt of pure energy. Both their hands flew through the seals again, until the water in the natural bowl lurched and the lightning crackled louder than before, changing colour slightly. Amaya's eyes went wide.

"It seems we have found the right combination of seals, we now need to name the jutsu, it helps you concentrate harder on the form. Tell me Maya-chan, when you performed it there and you felt that last seal click did anything come to your head?"

"Hai Kashi-san. In fact I nearly called it out. It feels like this Jutsu is called, Ranton: Arashiryuu."

Kakashi's grin grew even wider, that's exactly what he'd felt too. "OK let's try this again. Amaya can you add some more water to the bowl, and we will give this a real try."

As Amaya filled the bowl with a simple Suiton, Kakashi hit it hard with his Raiton, they both instantly flew through the seals and called out "Ranton: Arashiryuu." The water flared. The lightning changed colour, from pure blue white into a deep black blue. An elemental dragon flew up into the sky, its horns and whiskers were water with a visible current of white running through each. It screamed defiantly at the azure expanse above.

Amaya gasped, losing her concentration, and the dragon began to dissipate, sparks of electric coming from it as the water in its body evaporated and rained to the ground below.

Amaya laughed in delight. Eyes shining, she threw her arms round Kakashi's neck. "We did it! We actually did it." She laughed happily before remembering herself and slowly removing her arms while blushing lightly.*Ahem* "Sorry about that. We have to tell the Hokage. She will be anxious to hear about any improvement, and I have to say _this_ is a massive breakthrough."

Kakashi smiled down at the blushing jounin, glad that she seemed to be genuinely happy. "Tell you what," he draped an arm around her shoulders "let's take the picnic basket home then I will treat us to a meal in town. After we have eaten we can track down the Hokage and tell her what her favourite little ninjas have done"

"Wow. You're offering to pay, Kashi-san?" She elbowed him in the ribs. "You must be happy." She giggled at the wince and fake puppy dog eyes he gave her.

"I won't be, if you keep abusing me Maya-chan"

"Gomen Kashi-san! I promise I won't abuse you again." She gave him a small mocking bow before grabbing the basket. He reached over and took the basket from her and with his arm still flung about her shoulder he pulled her back home, feeling surprisingly at peace and excited at once.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Kekkei Genkai ~ blood line limit or a special justu that is passed down by genetics and cant be learned or copied.  
**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

Hopefully I will get the next chapter back in the next day or two, I will post it as soon as I get it. Have a great weekend everyone ^_^


	10. Chapter 9, Gymnastics and Jutsus

**A/N, Well hello again everyone, Thanks to my beta reader Againstnormal and my proof readers Pazzesca and Bryan for helping me out with this weeks chapter. you guys are all awesome!**

**Thank you as well my readers, I hope you are enjoying the way the story is developing. I can now tell you this WILL be 17 chapters long with a Prologue and an Epilogue (or 19 Chapters :P) I am being beaten into submission by a nasty writers block gremlin that doesn't want to see ch 17 done and dusted but I can promise you guys it WILL be done before it needs to be posted here**

**~Disclaimer~ I'm not good enough to own anything good apart from my own twisted little mind and my own sordid world.... Oh and I own Migato Amaya's ass and I plan on making her work hard for the clothes ive given her ;)**

Chapter 9, Gymnastics and Jutsus

Kakashi and Amaya went to one of Kakashi's favourite teahouses to celebrate. As they walked to Tsunade's offices they discussed the new jutsu. It was definitely an offensive, short to long range jutsu, probably an A-rank. They talked about how to make it more powerful, what they could do to test out different theories, the possibilities of different forms - such as hounds, or even just pure element style jutsu, with no definable form.

After they reported their find to Tsunade, she instructed them to investigate as much as they required. She also informed them that they would be back on active duty; Tsunade wanted Kakashi to test Amaya's tracking skills, then train, enhance and guide her where he could. She already knew that Amaya's nose was very powerful – she'd even wondered if she was related to the Inuzuka clan - maybe she should go and ask Tsume if there were any offshoot clan branches near the Land of Grass border. It would be best to investigate; if Amaya had family still alive then they could offer refuge to them as well.

Amaya and Kakashi had left the Hokage tower, Amaya heading towards Konoha library to pick up some scrolls on elementary chakra forms and control, Kakashi going to pick up some scrolls from his apartment and to grab some groceries, as they were running out of food.

A month passed quickly, a routine had formed. Kakashi would wake early and leave the house for a couple of hours, though Amaya still didn't know where he went every day. She would wake and shower after he left, then she would cook something for their lunch later. He would return and they would head off to spar. They'd have lunch then either spend the evening reading books and scrolls, or doing other mundane activities. They had both been given one day solo missions, nothing too serious, normally they were reconnaissance missions. Kakashi or Amaya would be asked to track something in particular, and then observe - or occasionally kill - the target; nothing too difficult for the two seasoned shinobi.

"Kashi-kun? Can you teach me some new taijutsu moves today?" Amaya whined playfully while making her eyes as big as possible. Kakashi chuckled at her antics.

"Hai, Maya-chan, but only if you teach me some more gymnastics?"

She had given him a demonstration of the skills she had built up using gymnastics only. She had asked him to chase her through the forest. The end was simple; he had to either grab both of her upper arms, or both ankles. He had thought it would be too easy - after all, he was a Konoha nin, they trained in the forest - until the chase actually began and she ran straight for the densest part.

The trees grew so close here that he had to turn and shuffle sideways to get past them. Amaya would jump at the gaps and twist herself side-on to slip between the trees at full speed. Sometimes she would perform one handed flips or she would run partway up the trees to flip over branches. Kakashi marvelled, it was like watching a cat: lithe, twisting, turning her slender body through the smallest of spaces. He finally said he'd had enough, and dragged himself out into the clearing. He was covered in small scratches and cuts. Amaya, on the other hand, was basically untouched. She began that day improving his basic gymnastic skills that all ninja learn from an early age.

Amaya critically eyed Kakashi. "Well you have learnt nearly everything I know already. Your training means that you learn this stuff very easily; the only thing left now is for you to learn all the stretches. You need to be able to do things like the splits, and then you can learn how to combine them, for instance a back flip landing in the splits" Kakashi winced at the thought "then from the splits into a hand stand with a split kick. You can even learn to throw kunai from every position too."  
She flipped back and threw some kunai whilst upside-down and they 'thunked' solidly into a tree on the other side of the clearing.

Kakashi pretended to think deeply. "OK Maya-chan. I will teach you some taijutsu tricks that Guy and Lee showed me." He knew she would hate their training methods; standing and kicking a tree stump until her leg bled was not her style.

Amaya's eyes nearly glowed with excitement; she could learn some tricks to make her stronger. She knew that even though she was faster than Kakashi she was much weaker physically. They had sparred so many times now that she knew almost every one of his moves, and he hers. He knew if she planted her foot in a certain way she was going to flip back, kick off a tree and propel herself at him. The first time she did that she caught him off guard and broke his nose. She knew from the way his index finger moved she had better move quickly or find herself pinned by kunai against a tree. He was so fast when he did that move, all she saw the first time was a blur before she felt her back connect with the tree and all the air crushed out of her lungs.

As they sparred together they strengthened their own perceived weaknesses, Amaya was stronger and Kakashi was faster, Kakashi had picked up a couple of new genjutsus and Amaya had learnt that her secondary chakra nature was wind, so she had learnt a couple of basic wind jutsus. Kakashi remembered the day he teased her about her chakra natures. It started out as a normal day, but he had begun to realize just how close his partnership with Amaya was becoming…

"_You know that your chakra element tends to affect your personality Maya-chan?"_

"_Really?" Her eyes widened "So what does my natures say about me?"_

"_Well." He drawled slowly_ "Y_our water nature makes you appear calm and peaceful, intuitive and able to handle anything with dignity."_

"_Huh? OK, that sounds about right." she smiled smugly. Kakashi struggled to stop the snort of laughter that threatened to surface._

"_And what about the wind nature? I suppose it means I'm graceful? A silent killer, able to come and go like the wind and a free spirit?" Kakashi knew he was going to be hit for this._

"_Hnnn? Oh no, wind types are psychos, they are brute force, aggressive, hot headed and emotional."_

_Amaya's eye darkened with anger but Kakashi continued looking, for all the world, like he was totally ignorant of the rage in his diminutive partner face, though he was dying inside from laughing so hard. He continued blithely._

"_Wind natures are best suited as front line material. They have a hair trigger temper, and don't have the brains to…"_

_He never finished his sentence because Amaya had launched herself at him. She had pinned him to the floor, pummelling him with her tiny fists._

"_I'm not aggressive and stupid. I'm not a psycho, nor do I have a temper." She shouted. Kakashi couldn't help himself and began laughing; this was more entertaining than Icha Icha sometimes. Her eyes narrowing, realizing he was teasing her again, she pushed herself off him and stalked through to the kitchen, growling about "fucking men who think they are fucking funny." He followed her trying to stop the unmanly giggling. She was bent over looking in the bottom of the fridge. He stood and admired her for a couple of seconds._

"_**Kakashi!**__" She called loudly, assuming he was still through in the other room._

"_Hai, Maya-chan?" Kakashi answered quietly. She jumped banging her head on the top of the fridge. Growling, she rubbed the sore spot and glared at him._

"_Do you have to sneak up on me all the time?" She pouted "Did you finish all the dashi stock this afternoon?"_

_He nodded in confirmation. She sighed deeply. They would need to go and buy some more supplies from town. She turned her pout on him then._

"_Kashi-kuuuuun." Big green eyes widened and glistened._

_Kakashi took a step back, he knew where this was heading and that was straight to his wallet. Hands up in defence Kakashi tried to think of an excuse to not go._

"_Um Maya-chan… you know someone should really stay here in case Tsunade decides to visit."_

"_You know as well as I do that she is not going to be dropping in any time soon" She advanced another step; her pout disappearing as a small frown appeared instead._

"_Well what about if…" He thought hard "…someone has had their daughter kidnapped and they need one of the best tracker nins this village has. If we're both out then no one will be able to find us. Can you really shrug off your responsibilities this easily?" He shook his head severely at her. She growled as she took another step closer, grabbing him by his collar and pulled him down to her height._

"_Kashi-kun" She simpered with fake sweetness, "you will either come willingly or I will drag you there by your collar like a bad dog." She flashed him her most innocent looking smile. "And don't think for one minute I wouldn't enjoy having you chained and dragging at my heels."_

_Kakashi nearly choked at the extremely suggestive, in his mind, comment. He peered at Amaya, trying to see through the sickeningly innocent face she had on right now. Searching for even the smallest glimpse that she knew exactly what she had just suggested. Maybe it was all in his head. He really needed to let loose. Being cooped up all the time with his partner, who was most assuredly female, wasn't going to be good for their working relationship._

_He was finding it hard not to flirt outrageously, especially when she made little comments like that one; ones that were full of innuendo. He wasn't sure, but he thought she maybe didn't realize the effect she had on him at times. In all the time he had known the woman, she had avoided anything other than a working relationship to a casual friendship, never anything more intimate. He needed something to distract him. He certainly didn't want his partner castrating him at some point because he had misread the situation. He sighed, head dropping in submission to the petite jounin._

"_Hai Maya-chan. Let me go and get my wallet"_

_Amaya waited until he left the kitchen before slamming her face into her hands, slapping herself firmly across the forehead, saying "stupid, stupid, stupid." Couldn't she control her hormones anymore? Why did she have to go and say something like _that_? She had noticed the intense look her gave her after her comment on chaining and dragging him. Had she offended him? Oh Kami, She hoped she hadn't upset him, he _did_ look rather hang dog when he left to get his money. She had probably just destroyed the easy atmosphere the two had finally managed to achieve, and she did not want it back to the way it was at the start; that had been a living nightmare._

_The way he had looked at her though, what was that look? He was probably disgusted. After all, a man like the famous Copy Ninja could have any woman he wanted, and if the rumours were true he was quite picky as well: only bedding women with truly unique traits - they might have an extremely unusual hair and eye colour, or have particular kunoichi skills - one thing she knew, he never went for weak women. Every one had been amazingly powerful in her own right. Powerful, and stunningly beautiful. He would never even look at someone like her, she was so weak that she couldn't stop someone attacking her family and friends without having to sacrifice her virtue, and even then she still didn't know if anyone had been saved. Then, instead of being strong and surviving for revenge or to search for the villagers, she hid, like a coward. Her mind, instead of facing the truth, hid her memories._

_She dropped her eyes down to her feet. No, Kakashi would never be interested in someone like her. He was too far out of her league, yet she had never even noticed another in that context before. She decided she would speak to one of her friends about this problem and see what advice they had for getting over a crush. Kurenai or Sakura most likely could help best. She heard him coming back and walked out of the kitchen to meet him halfway, her resolve steeled._

_Kakashi draped his arm amicably around her shoulders. "Come on then Kashi-kun. Lets get something to eat, and if you're a good boy I may even buy you a treat." Mentally slapping herself again as his arm twitched at the comment, she decided to speak to the two women sooner rather than later, for both their sanities…_

They had sparred for several hours. Panting, the sweat causing her skin to glisten, Amaya bent with her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath. He had pushed her hard today, but she wouldn't give in. Neither had officially 'lost' yet, and she wasn't about to just yield to him. Kakashi struggled to hide the deep breathes he was taking. He could feel the sweat begin to trickle down his spine and chest and wished he could take off the constricting jounin vest and top and let the late summer breeze cool him down. He laughed to himself at what would probably happen if he _did_ do that, Amaya would likely kill him.

He eyed his opponent, watching as she brought her body under control again and stood up, eyes blazing with decision. He really enjoyed these sparring sessions; Amaya was full of fire and passion. The same could be said of his green clad rival-come-friend and his student, but at least she didn't run about dancing and screaming about youth and nonsense. No, Amaya had a lot more grace and social understanding to act like those two. He nearly laughed out loud after picturing her, Guy, and Lee all dressed in green leotards and posing. Well, he would have laughed - if she hadn't looked so damn good in his mind.

He caught a quick movement out the corner of his eye and dodged back to avoid the drop kick she had aimed for his blind side. The rule was, no charka during their taijutsu training, so that meant no sharingan. He chuckled darkly as, instead of retreating completely like most people would, he sprang forward trying to catch her unaware and she squeaked as he nearly caught her. Back-flipping out of his reach, she tried to pull together a plan to get him off guard.

Kakashi kept advancing on her so she would need to get away from him before she could turn the tables and put him on the defensive again. Her eyes searching the dark forest, she pushed a little more chakra to her senses - she knew this was cheating but she really wanted to win now. Plus, she could show him what she'd been working on. Amaya grinned widely at him before performing a kawarimi and replaced her body with a squirrel.

Kakashi knew she was cheating, her eyes had changed colour slightly when she opened her kekkei genkai, and then she performed a kawarimi. Well, two could play that game. He pretended to look blindly about and scratched his head, but as he did so he pushed his hitae-ate up so his sharingan was peeking through the shadow of his hair and forehead protector. His gifted eye picked up her chakra trail about 20 metres north-east of his current position, and his sharp ears picked up her giggling.

Flipping some hands seals he 'poofed' directly behind her. Amaya squealed again, dropped to the ground, and used chakra at her feet to take off - almost flying towards the trees - then she threw two kunai, quite casually, towards him. He deflected them easily but felt a little chilled by the almost evil grin she gave him.

She suddenly stopped and threw a kunai into the soft leaf mulch between them. He skidded to a halt, watching her warily.

His eyes widened as her body seemed to shimmer and then faded from sight. He felt something cold land on his cheek. Glancing up, he saw that it was snow, but only where he was standing. There were jasmine blossoms floating around in the snow, their subtle perfume filling the air. He realized, almost too late, that the smell was so heady it was having a sedentary effect on him. At the same time, he realised he had somehow gotten caught in a genjutsu. He was impressed; it had been seamless. He didn't notice, until it was nearly too late, what had happened.

Kakashi slammed his hands together into the rat seal with a harsh cry "KAI!" The image of snow and white petals didn't disappear; this was a strong genjutsu. He heard Amaya's laughter gently signing on the breeze.

"This isn't a simple genjutsu. In fact, you're the very first person it's even been used on. I've spent quite a while reading up and I developed a new technique that you should find interesting."

Kakashi turned full circle trying to seek her chakra with his eye. It was useless, her chakra was everywhere. He realized it was infused in the petals, which would explain the drugging effect of the scent.

He chuckled "Come on Amaya, it's not like you to hide behind illusions."

He tried to prick her pride; he really didn't want to resort to stabbing himself to get out of this vision.

Her laughter rang out again, the wind swirled faster around him.

"Ne Kashi-kun? You don't really expect me to fall for that taunt do you? I'm not Naruto."

The wind got faster still, snow and white petals whipping through his hair, when he felt a flash of pain across his cheek.

"What the hell...?" His hand came away from his cheek with blood in it. Pain flared in his upper arm, turning he saw it had been slashed through and his arm was bleeding. The back of his leg was next. He started being assaulted from all angles - always light cuts, never enough to cause serious damage, but as Kakashi realised, enough to eventually cause blood loss, and weakness from pain. This really was an impressive jutsu but it was time to stop her now. He grabbed a kunai from his pouch and stabbed it into his thigh. Grunting with pain he cracked his eyes only to feel another flash of pain across the bridge of his nose.

"I'm sorry Kakashi this isn't a normal genjutsu. You can't break it with pain, nor with chakra interruption."

Kakashi ground his teeth. He didn't like being played with. It was very rare for anyone to ever get one over the Great Copy Ninja. He would have to learn this jutsu, but not before he learnt how to break it.

He swung his kunai around, blindly hoping against hope to connect with something; maybe breaking her concentration would break the jutsu. Nothing happened. The almost constant pain from the numerous cuts, coupled with the blood loss, was making his mind go a bit fuzzy. "_Damn, definitely learning this one."_ The smell was overpowering now, he felt his eyes start to slide shut and he almost missed the whispered "Do you yield?" Squeezing his eyes shut and opened again, he tried to search where her voice came from. It was no use. He sighed and nodded dropping to his haunches, "I yield Maya-chan."

Amaya grabbed the kunai she had thrown into the ground before her; she ran, and caught Kakashi before he hit the ground.

"Kashi-kun? Are you OK?" She filled her hands with green healing chakra, and used the small amount of medic knowledge she had to try and heal some of the small wounds. This would have to do, at least until she tracked Sakura down and got her to look at him. "Kakashi?" His eyes flickered open. She could see his eyes sharpen as the drug in the jutsu started to wear off.

He tried to sit up but she pushed him back down into her lap, keeping pressure on his shoulder. "Hold still while I try to stem some of this blood flow."

"What the fuck kind of jutsu was that? I couldn't break it, I thought only sharingan jutsu's were unbreakable except for other sharingan users?"

"Can you stand? Let's get you home before I explain how it all works." He stood, refusing her offer to assist him. She went and collected the kunai that had been thrown and deflected before nodding at him to head off back home.

"OK, first of all it's not a normal genjutsu. I remember you saying you didn't use them because you weren't a natural. It was something you had to work really hard at and found hard to maintain? Well I took it upon myself to research genjutsus. I also read your scrolls about other jutsus as well"

Kakashi eyed her, just how much had she learnt by herself? The fact she had bested him had shaken him badly.

"Well," she continued "I read about the Fourth's Thunder God technique,"

Kakashi's eye widened and his eyebrow shot up at this information.

"It said his technique relied on kunai with special seals and kanji written on them."

She pulled out the three kunai from her pouch and laid them out on the table in front of the elder jounin. Kakashi picked one up, remembering the kunai his sensei had gifted him when he first became a jounin all those years ago. He inspected the kunai more closely. When he angled it in the light he saw a flash and when he tilted it just right the flash became an iridescent purple kanji. It said 'sight'. Checking the other two revealed kanji in the same unusual ink, one said 'sound' and the last 'scent'. It started to click, the two kunai he had deflected.

As she saw the comprehension dawn on his face she continued.

"That's right; when you knocked those kunai away you had already set yourself up. The victim needs to be positioned between all three kunai before you activate it was the right seal. Of course, you have to make the genjutsu and impregnate that into the kunai beforehand."

Kakashi stared.

"How long have you been working on this?"

"I started as soon as we finished the Ranton: Arashiryuu."

His eyebrow disappeared again. A month, that was all, yet she had developed a genjutsu that could revolutionize a lot of things. His mind started racing ahead.

"Do you have to use kunai?"

"Um no, you can use anything as long as you use the right jutsu to impregnate the chakra and genjutsu to the object and use the correct kanji and inks."

"How many people can be caught in this?"

"I don't know I haven't tested it, just this one time really, but I imagine that as long as the seals aren't too far apart then anyone caught between them could be put under."

He grinned. "So we could in theory place these seals on all the paths leading to the village. And then if anyone tries to invade us again we can release the genjutsu and trap them all."

He was very impressed with her, and she had done it all alone as well.

"Hang on, why did you do this alone? Why didn't you ask for me to help you as well?"

"Um well, it was supposed to be kind of, like, a gift for you. As I said, I know you're not proficient with genjutsus, this way you don't even need to hold the jutsu, to dispel it you just need to remove one of the seals. Unfortunately for anyone caught in it they can't move, so they can't wander away from them either."

Kakashi was stunned by the gesture. "Why would you get me any kind of gift?"

"Um well." She blushed. "I had wanted to apologise for the way I acted when you first became my partner. I was a total bitch and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Gomen Kakashi-san" She bowed to Kakashi.

She looked up in shock when she felt two strong hands grip her upper arms.

"Maya-chan, you don't need to apologise. I know things were tough for you back then. You had a trauma and were suddenly thrown together with me. And I never want you to bow to me again either, I'm your friend and friends overlook silly things like that first week."

He then did something that shocked them both.

He smiled gently down at the dark haired woman he was holding, and leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Her scent filled his nostrils as he realized belatedly what he had done, and just how dangerous it was, She had offered him a gift, a wonderful gift, and here he was about to ruin it. He needed to back off before he tried to do more than kiss her cheek.

He stepped back sharply. "It's a wonderful gift, domo arigatou gozaimasu Amaya-chan. We should also tell Tsunade-sama about this new jutsu as well. Oh. Do you want to eat in or out tonight?"

"Huh?" Amaya looked a little confused.

"It's nearly dinner time, do you want to eat here or go out tonight? We can report to the Hokage then go eat if you like?"

"Oh, OK. Can we go out tonight? In fact, I need to call on Sakura for a bit as well, so maybe make it a group thing? You haven't seen much of your team for a month now."

"Hai. That's a good idea." He gave her a happy eye crinkle before heading off to get changed and washed.  
Amaya sat in the kitchen, her thoughts wandering, while she waited for the bathroom as she needed a shower after their training. He'd kissed her. He had actually placed his lips on _her. _Well not on her, per se, as she had her bandages on and he his mask. But he had been close enough for her to smell him properly, that heady musk with a hint of mint on his breath. She needed to find some way to speak with Sakura discreetly tonight. He might have held her and kissed her, but the look of horror on his face when he realised where he was and what he was doing spoke a million words to her. She needed to get rid of this crush and she needed to get rid of it now.

They had managed to find Sakura and Naruto easily enough. They asked them both to find Sai and Yamato and to meet them both at Ichiraku Ramen in an hour, after they'd reported to the Hokage.

Tsunade was absolutely delighted at the newest development of her personal pet project. She felt very smug when they presented her with Amaya's newest accomplishment. She was even more impressed when Kakashi admitted ruefully that he had failed to break it. She sent them off with a firm "And Kakashi go and get your cuts healed please, it wouldn't do for one of my most prominent shinobi to be walking around looking like a domestic abuse poster boy."

They left the Hokage tower feeling very pleased, and headed off for a good meal with their comrades. Amaya was feeling a lot happier, knowing that she would finally get the chance to speak to Sakura. Maybe she could convince the boys to go to somewhere else, somewhere that actually boasted toilets so she could speak to Sakura in private properly, with no chance of being overheard.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**domo arigatou gozaimasu ~ A very polite way of saying, Thank you very much**

**Kekkei Genkai ~ blood line limit or a special justu that is passed down by genetics and cant be learned or copied.  
**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**


	11. Chapter 10, Crush

**A/N wow its been another week already?, phew, I really hope you guys are enjoying this story. Thanks to Momokobo for the sweet review, Im glad your enjoying the story so far. As usual thanks to my beta Agaisntnormal and my proof readers Pazzy Neechan and Bry. And n even bigger thanks to my readers,**

**~Disclaimer~ *sigh* do I really have to remind myself that I don't and never will own Naruto.**

Chapter 10 Crush

Amaya breathed in the smells of roasting meat deeply. She had won the argument against Naruto and they had decided to go Yakiniku Q instead of Ramen. Not that there had been much of an argument once she had Kakashi, Sakura, and Sai standing behind her and arguing the merits of having a sit down meal compared to the limited seating at Ichikraku's.

Sakura had wanted to go and get tempura though, but almost everyone had shouted that idea down as well, leaving them with either the expensive date style restaurants and snack food places, or go for BBQ and hope no one from Team Asuma was back home from missions - Chouji was more than capable of eating everything on the table and wanting more, plus he was almost as adept as Kakashi at worming out of bills too. For now though, Amaya was just content watching team Kakashi catch up.

"Well, Tsunade-shisou has had me out at some allied villages. I've been helping some establish a strong foundation for a good medic program, and in return I've been learning new medical jutsus. You wouldn't believe some of the things I've learnt." Sakura was nearly glowing in delight; it had been far too long since they had all been together. Even during training there were usually at least one or two members of Team Kakashi missing; most recently it had been Kakashi himself. Sakura and Naruto, worried that Tsunade was intending to split their team up, had questioned her motives…

"_Well Sakura, I expected the gaki to show me this kind of disrespect but not you." The honey haired Hokage glared down at her student, "Is it not enough that I had made a decision to strengthen our village's defenders?"_

"_But Baa-chan, we haven't seen Kaka-sensei in nearly a month now. And this time it's not because of missions, it's because you have ordered him to go and live with a woman." Naruto whined. Tsunade growled. Shizune and Sakura tried to placate both the irate blondes._

_The Hokage and Naruto ended up nearly shouting at each other._

"_So why now? Huh? Are you planning to take him away from us? After we finally get our team together and working well? Or is this some sick form of entertainment to you?" _

_As Tsunade quietly exploded Shizune calmly explained._

"_Tsunade-sama realized it was in not only Kakashi's best interests, but Amaya's as well, for them to have a partner. Both have excellent skills but need to have some proper team work, and doing so has allowed them both to develop a new jutsu."_

"_What? What's it like?"_

_The Hokage looked a bit confused "huh?"_

"_The new jutsu," He persisted "What's this new jutsu like? How strong is it? What range? Does it use up a lot of chakra? When can he teach me it?"_

_Tsunade sighed._

"_Well to answers all your questions, It's called Ranton: Arashiryuu, it's at least A-rank with the possibility of becoming S-rank once its defined, it uses up far less chakra then you would expect, and - to put it simply - you can't learn it." _

"_What do you mean I can't learn it? I learnt Rasengan didn't I?"  
Tsunade held up a hand to shut him up._

"_You can't learn it because it's made from two different elements. Kakashi taught some elementary jutsus to Amaya, they then worked very hard to combine their attacks. You can't learn it as you don't know any water Jutsu, plus you need a lightning user as well, and on top of that you need extreme concentration."_

"_So you mean he can't do this without her? That sucks! I would hate to be reliant on a _girl_ to perform my jutsus."_

_Naruto felt a chill go through him as green, gold and black eyes turned and promised him a slow death._

_He had backpedalled desperately. Gaining another bruise and a likely skull fracture from Sakura they were curtly dismissed._

"_Oh, and if either of you come in here and question my orders again I will strip you both of rank and have you chasing cats, and cleaning yards for a whole year." Tsunade called to their retreating backs._

"_Hai Hokage-sama."_

_The both bowed and left as quickly as they could…_

They were all sitting around a low table, with the meat sizzling on a portable table grill; Naruto was nearly singing with happiness as he drooled, and eyed the biggest slices of pork and beef. Sai and Yamato exchanged glances with each other, though for entirely different reasons:

Yamato was amused by Naruto's display, especially because he had declared that all other foods were nothing compared to Ichiraku Ramen, and yet here he was with saliva dribbling down his chin.

Sai couldn't understand why he would get so excited by something as mundane and everyday as food, he would have to remember to ask Sakura later. His girlfriend, if she could be called that, wasn't interested in talking much or teaching him social niceties, though he was certainly having a pleasant education in her hands.

Once the food was all ready and everyone had eaten some, Naruto suddenly perked up

"Ne Kaka-sensei?"

"Hnnn. Yes Naruto?"

"I heard you had a new jutsu, Tsunade baa-chan says I can't learnt it though because you need a woma.….." He gulped at the sudden death stare from Sakura "uh… because you need a second person to form it. That's not right is it? I'm sure you can turn it into a one person jutsu. Will you teach me when you do?"

"Well Naruto, it cannot be done without a water user, plus you need to have perfect timing and be totally in tune with your partner to perform this jutsu. All the water types I can think of, off the top of my head, already have partners or teams apart from Sai-san here"

Sai smiled in acknowledgment "Quite frankly Dickless, I would rather tear my own balls off and feed them to Ugly here than be your partner."

Sakura and Naruto both lost it, Yamato using his mouton jutsu to try and restrain Sakura while Kakashi grabbed Naruto to stop the bodily harm he was promising Sai. Amaya chuckled before gently taking Sai's arm.

"Come with me, you can help me get everyone's drinks Sai-san"

Kakashi sent her a very grateful smile as she effectively removed the worst catalyst this team had ever seen. "Now Naruto, about the Ranton: Arashiryuu. No, you wouldn't be able to learn because you need a partner who is as skilled as yourself."

Amaya leaned over and whispered in Sakura's ear, "Can I speak to you privately at some point soon? It's kind of urgent."

Sakura's eyes grew curious, she nodded.

"Hai, in the girl's bathrooms in 10 minutes. Get Sai to bring the drinks back and I will meet you there."

Amaya leaned against the cool white porcelain sink, looking into her own eyes staring back at her in the mirror. How was she going to approach this? She didn't feel it appropriate to tell her who her crush was on - that could prove disastrous. Amaya wasn't exactly sure how Kakashi's team even viewed him, sure they were close, but she had seen the way Naruto and Kakashi, even Yamato on occasions, reacted to men coming near Sakura.

She had seen Sakura cock-blocking effectively a few times as well, had anyone come near her boys. She didn't want to be on the bad side of Sakura really, but she needed advice on how to control these feelings and hormones. Maybe Sakura could use her medical jutsu to reduce her natural hormones. Maybe it was simply an imbalance and she was actually ill and needed her levels corrected?

The door screeched loudly as Sakura entered the small dimly lit bathroom. She locked the door behind her, eliciting a raised eyebrow from Amaya.

"Naruto was very interested when you didn't come back with Sai, and getting him to tell everyone you felt a little ill. Naruto was all for barging in and '_taking your temperature_'" Sakura snorted in laughter.

"OK what's wrong? It seemed serious."

Amaya closed her eyes before turning. Leaning against the sink, she re-opened her green ringed orbs. She glared at her feet as if this was their entire fault.

"Well, um I need some advice. I have, well..." She stuttered, a little unsure how to start. She raised her eyes to bore into Sakura's jade depths.

"I've kinda developed a crush on someone and it may cause problems." She blurted out. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Oh! Is that all?" She smiled at the older woman "Well, how long have you felt like this? Does he know? Or even return your feelings at all?"

Amaya sighed again.

"I know it doesn't seem much to you, but I've not experienced this before. I know from my previous memories that even though I've done stuff I've never really felt anything for my ex partners other than some form of release. I noticed it a couple of weeks ago and it's not going away."

Amaya looked pretty miserable as she thought back over the past few weeks, as much as she had been enjoying her time with him, it was clear to her that she couldn't afford to destroy their easy rapport and friendship.

"I don't think he likes me in that way either, in fact I'm pretty damn sure he doesn't. He kissed me yesterday, on the cheek, but he looked horrified when he realised what he'd just done. We have a good friendship as well and I don't want to ruin that either"

Amaya looked absolutely miserable as she recounted to Sakura. The rosette medic-nin just stared at her dark haired friend. "Well I would recommend you actually find out if he does like you as well," - to which Amaya shook her head vehemently - "Then I would say to try and avoid contact with him; the less you see of him the less your crush will become."  
Amaya sighed again. "I don't think that will work really."

"Can I ask who the crush is on?" Sakura peered at her. This was very interesting, as far as she knew Amaya hadn't had a social life recently, and she had certainly never expressed an interest in anyone before.

She really hoped the woman saw sense though. No man in his right mind would turn Amaya down, petite, lithe and dark looks with pale skin. Most guys would give their teeth to be with her and being a successful kunoichi gave her an air of danger most men found irresistible, she should know being a kunoichi herself.

Amaya gulped and looked slightly panicked, "Is that the only way to get rid of a crush?"

"Well you could try and look for his faults; that might work. Generally with crushes you build up an idea in your head that has very little basis in fact apart from the other persons physical appearance. Injecting some realism will probably kill the crush dead very quickly."

"You still haven't answered my question Amaya-san." Because Amaya had tried to step past the probing question, it had perked Sakura's curiosity even more.

"Ne Sakura-chan?"

"Hmmm?"

"Could a hormone imbalance cause this sort of thing? Can you check and correct if anything is wrong?"

"Hai, I can do it now actually, and that's good thinking, if it is an imbalance then I will have you all fixed up in no time. Stay still OK, and I will check."

Sakura raised her hands and placed them at the base of Amaya's neck, extending her chakra awareness to the others bodily functions. Everything seemed to be OK there. Sakura lowered her hands to Amaya's abdomen, and she corrected a slight fluctuation. Sakura opened her eyes.

"OK, so I can't really see anything that would cause your feelings to be elevated."

Amaya nodded, "Well arigatou for checking Sakura-chan. It looks like I will just have to suck it up and deal. Come on, the guys will be thinking we have jumped out the bathroom window."

Amaya smiled weakly at Sakura, they linked arms and walked back through to finish the meal with the rest of team Kakashi. As they sat down, Yamato and Sai said they hoped she wasn't ill and was feeling a bit better, Naruto started firing off a load of questions, Kakashi leaned over and mumbled quietly in her ear "I hope I don't have to play nurse later tonight."

He gave her an eye crinkle that she just _knew_ was a wink and she felt heat start to rise steadily up her cheeks in response, thank Kami for her bandages, no one would be able to see she was blushing quite so badly. "Lie, Kakashi-san. Dr Sakura took a quick look over me and has pronounced me all better."

She smiled brightly at him even though inside she felt strange; knowing she would actively be avoiding this man's touches. She knew it would be impossible to avoid everything about him though. She looked at him properly. "_Inject some reality? Well let's see, He reads porn in public, he has no tact really, he could be hideous under his mask, that's three things_"

Her mind rebelled instantly, overturning those three 'faults'. He wasn't ugly, she had caught the smallest glimpses, plus the material was very thin so you could see his features though the mask. No tact also meant he would tell her straight, she hated it when people tried to sugar coat things for her. She wasn't a china doll that would break at a harsh word. He reads porn? Well that made him experimental, which could be a good thing if...

She mentally slapped herself before she finished her train of thought. _"Nice going, you're supposed to find faults, not encourage yourself."_

"Maya-chan? Hello?"

Her head jerked up. Everyone was staring at her. She realised that Kakashi had been saying something.

"Huh? Gomen Kakashi-san, what did you say?"

He chuckled as she flushed again, this time a lot more visible over her bandages.

"I asked what you wanted to drink. We are staying a bit longer if that's OK with you?"

"Hai, can I have my usual please?" She tried to smile winningly at him, hoping that everyone would forget about her being distracted earlier, the last thing she wanted was someone probing her thoughts.

"One umeshu coming up." Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato went to the bar to get drinks for the group.

"What's wrong Amaya-san?" Sai asked in a voice that almost sounded bored, "First you ask me to tell everyone that you're feeling a little bit ill, when your obviously not, then you and Ugly here spend far too long in the bathroom."

"Maa maa, it's nothing Sai-san. I was feeling a little sick earlier, Sakura came and checked me over and regulated my stomach as it was producing too much bile."

Sai looked unconvinced "Amaya, you know when you lie your voice raises ever so slightly in pitch; also you tend to cross and uncross your legs."

Sakura, seeing how uncomfortable Amaya was feeling, added "Actually Sai, I did give Maya a quick medical and fixed some fluctuating hormones. But we were mainly talking about girl things."

"Ooh? Is that so? So who is it that Amaya-chan is hoping will plow her?" Kakashi, Naruto and Yamato had decided to return at that moment. Everyone collectively choked at Sai's tactless words.

"W-w-what makes you so sure that we were discussing guys?" Amaya spat out.

"Sai! This is absolutely none of your business." Sakura was fairly angry that the pale artist wouldn't drop the subject. "In fact I'm pretty sure if you needed to know what us _girls _talked about, we would have invited you as well."

Amaya was so red she was sure she could light up an entire city block with the heat from her face alone. Feeling humiliated she stood and tried to quickly excuse herself. Naruto glared at Sai while grabbing her arm.

"Amaya-chan, just ignore the bastard. Please sit, he may enjoy sticking his nose in stuff that has nothing to do with him, but I promise we won't press you." He gave her a calming grin.

"Hai Amaya-chan! Please don't go. It's nice having another female to talk with, so instead of another entire evening spent listening to these guys talk about their pissing contests and the size of the next woman's breasts, can you just stay please." Sakura looked pleadingly at her "I promise next time Sai speaks out of turn I will put him through the wall." She smiled sweetly at the pale man, who just stared blankly back.

"Gomen Amaya-san, I did not mean to cause you offence. Please sit, I wouldn't like to spoil your evening." He stood and gestured her to sit back down. Realising she was attracting even more attention from the other patrons Amaya slowly sank back down, her face still burning.

Kakashi leaned over to whisper in her ear again.

"So..."

"_Shut. Up."_ She hissed at him, cutting him off before he got the chance. Amaya glared at Kakashi from the side of her eyes, "_You are not gonna speak about this back at home either."_

Kakashi sat back down, his eye full of promises. He was determined he would find out exactly what she and Sakura were talking about. Sai was pretty astute at times, now he thought about it. It seemed highly suspicious; obviously they have already admitted they were in the bathroom talking. This means girl talk, which means talking about guys probably. He knew that Sakura talked to Naruto about that kind of thing, and occasionally him too, so that meant...

Amaya felt, rather than saw, Kakashi slowly turn his gaze back to her. She prayed to the many faceless gods that she wouldn't start blushing again. She growled to herself, why the hell was she acting like a 12 year old girl?

Sakura could see that Amaya was feeling very uncomfortable; she had a feeling she knew who the object of her affections was. Maybe she should probe a bit more. Sakura appraised her ex sensei out of the corner of her eye. Sure, she had flirted with the idea of Kakashi, but nothing serious. As she grew up her obsession with the Uchiha heir diminished and the longer Sasuke was away, the less she loved the idea of him. Instead, that changed into a love for a comrade before finally morphing into something she couldn't describe, but it certainly wasn't romantic love any more.

She had started to notice the males around her about that time as well, the occasional fantasy as well. She learnt quickly to not fantasize about any of the males she saw often though. After having a particularly dirty one about Yamato, the ensuing mortification on her behalf, every time they sparred for three months after, taught her a valuable lesson about separating ones work and personal lives. Instead she kept her liaisons outside of her circle of friends and colleagues. This also afforded certain discretion as well. As far as any of her friends were concerned she was still a virgin.

Sakura chanced another glance at Kakashi and Amaya. Was there something there? She couldn't see much difference in Kakashi. Amaya though, she noticed, was actively avoiding his eyes. So it _was_ him then. A second, closer, look at Kakashi and she spotted that, however subtle it was, Kakashi managed to focus his attention on Amaya. It was strange; it wasn't like he was talking only to her, or even facing her directly. There was just _something_, a feeling that Kakashi was paying her more attention then was normal for him. Anyone who didn't know him well would assume he found everyone at the table quite boring. If she had spotted that, she knew Sai would as well and quite possibly Yamato too.

"Amaya-chan, can you help me with the drinks please?" Sakura stood, knocking back her drink in one go. Amaya turned large green eyes up at the pink haired kunoichi.

"Huh? Hai Sakura-chan." Amaya stood up and followed her. As soon as they reached the bar Sakura rounded on her.

"Kakashi? Really? Why him of all people? You do realise he is a complete pervert? Aloof, rude, lazy, I could go on!"

Amaya looked shocked at the verbal onslaught from the small medic, her mouth just hanging open.

"Ano Sakura-chan. Wh..."

"Don't you dare ask me what I mean. You know full well what I mean" Sakura stood, fists against her hips, looking very much like a clan matriarch. "If I can see it then I'm pretty sure everyone at the table can... well... maybe not Naruto, but that's nothing surprising. But that doesn't matter, if I can see it, then Sai can. Once Yamato Taichou thinks more about what he overheard he will be able to see it too, and most definitely Kakashi can see it."

Amaya gulped and turned pale, "I didn't realise I was staring. I was making an effort to not even acknowledge him." She nearly whispered.

"Iie Amaya-chan." Sakura said softly, "It was precisely _because_ you were avoiding him too much that I noticed. I could understand you being embarrassed about what they heard Sai say, but now you are almost hiding in plain view from Kakashi."

"Ah, none of that matters. I just want to know why? I mean, I know he must be pretty hot, but like I said: Aloof, rude and lazy."

"He isn't any of those things." She said quietly. Sakura snorted.

"OK, you're right - it definitely _is_ just a crush. So you're going to try and inject reality right?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean, well I am trying to, and also he isn't those things. We have been living together for over a month. He isn't aloof; he just contains his emotions like any good shinobi. You have been in his team for years so I know you can tell when he is happy, angry or sad? He isn't rude; just because he will tell you straight without sweetening the truth doesn't make someone rude."

"What about the disappearing act he pulls all the time when we are speaking?"

"Have you finished speaking to him about the important stuff? The stuff you started the conversation for in the first place?"

Sakura hummed and nodded.

"Well then. I'm very similar myself. I will say what I have to then leave. He doesn't tell you pretty lies to protect your feelings, that isn't rude, that's respectful."

Sakura looked a bit closer at Amaya. She was surprisingly perceptive, did she even realise?

"As for being lazy, I can confirm, having lived with each other, that he isn't lazy at all. In fact, he gets up before I do. He goes out for most of the morning, he comes home, we go and train then eat, then either spar train or read up on jutsus then we share the evening meal duties before finally relaxing for the rest of the night."

"Why do you think he isn't interested in you like that?"

Amaya was taken aback by the change in tack.

"Um, well like I said, he kissed me on the cheek and looked horrified, that was in thanks for a gift... Oh... I nearly forgot!" Amaya called across the bar.

"Kashi-kun! Have you got those kunai? The special ones?"

Can you show the guys please? Sakura and I will be over soon."

Kakashi nodded and pulled the three kunai out of his pouch and passed one to each of his fellow male team mates. Amaya could hear the murmur of his voice as he explained what they were and the jutsu they contained. Sakura turned back.

"What's special about those kunai?"

"It's the gift I gave him. They help me cast and maintain powerful genjutsus. We reported it to the Hokage, she was delighted." The bartender placed their drinks down in front of the girls.

Come on, I think you will like them as well but you don't need them really."

Amaya was bombarded by questions again as she sat down. Mainly from Naruto, but she also had some well thought out questions from Yamato and Sakura. Sai examined the ink on the kunai, fascinated. The rest of the evening went by easily. Sai left early with Yamato, apparently Ino was waiting at his flat for him. Yamato had an early morning mission as well. Sakura left soon after, leaving Naruto, Kakashi and Amaya.

Naruto was feeling the drink a little and his head lolled about a bit, eyes hazy and unfocused. Amaya turned to her male counterpart and the kitsune container.

"I'm going to head home now. It's getting quite late and I have training in the morning."

Kakashi stood as well. "I will come too Maya-chan. We walk past the Hyuuga compound as well, so we might as well pass by and tell Hinata where Naruto is." He winked at her, she realised that he was lumping Naruto with the bill again. She stifled a giggle as Kakashi placed his arm around her shoulders and steered her towards the door.

"Sayonara Naruto-kun." Amaya called back. The blonde looked up at the departing partners, confusion clear across his face. Kakashi glanced back and gave him a small wave.

Amaya took a deep breath as they walked out into the chill evening air, the warm smell of autumn approaching evident in the breeze. They both took a step forward into darkening street.

*poof*

An ANBU officer with a crane mask appeared in front of them.

"Hatake-senpei, Migoto-sama, The Hokage is requesting your presence in her office immediately. We have already informed the rest of your team so if you leave presently."

Kakashi's arm dropped from her shoulders.

"Hai, we will leave at once, Arigatou." He bowed his head as the ANBU disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"That's strange. He said my team had been informed but I can still see Naruto and no one has spoken to him."

"Kakashi, He relayed the message to me and you, both of us." Realization spread across his face.

We are both summoned, likely with a team hand-picked as well."

They both heard the footsteps closing on them. They turned and saw Sakura, Sai, and a sleepy looking Ino heading towards them.

"Well. Let's go then." Kakashi said.

"Hai." They both performed the seals and disappeared, in a swirl of leaves and white jasmine petals.

They arrived and had to wait for the others to join them before Shizune let them in the office.

Apart from Kakashi and Amaya, Sai and Ino had been summoned, as had Sakura and Genma.

Sai looked indifferent, Ino annoyed. Sakura couldn't understand why she was there; she had responsibilities at the hospital. Genma made a bee line for Kakashi.

"So what do you think this is about?"  
Kakashi shrugged saying nothing.

"As chatty as ever Kakashi?" Genma laughed, flipping his senbon to the other side of his mouth.

"I hope it's a group mission though." He looked expectantly at Kakashi who merely raised a quizzical eyebrow "You have noticed all the hot pieces of tail here right? We have, in this room alone, three of the most sought after kunoichis in the entire shinobi world."

"'Can't say I noticed. One is my ex student and current team member, the other is my mission partner and house mate, the third has the biggest mouth in Konoha. By all means go for it Genma, but let me warn you, Ino is seeing Sai, Sakura will probably castrate you with a chakra scalpel and Maya will probably feed your balls to you." Genma gulped audibly just as Shizune appeared and bade them all enter.

"Ah good, you're all here. As you can all probably guess, we have been asked for a special mission. The Daimyo of Haru no Kuni, formerly known as Yuki no Kuni, has requested a mixed gender group of my finest shinobi."

There have been girls going missing recently. All accounts are that the girls are drugged, then removed from a particular popular night spot. Now the Daimyo's own daughter has disappeared, hence the urgency of this mission. So far no ransom has been requested, so either the kidnappers don't realise what they hold, or they don't care. Either way, they are to be considered quite dangerous."

He has requested three partners, preferably ones with very close ties. This drug lowers inhibitions and makes the victims much more suggestible and more vulnerable. He felt that close partners who either have a good working or romantic relationship would work best, because the other will recognise something isn't right with their partner and be able to intervene. Unfortunately most our partnered shinobi are unavailable, apart from you Amaya, Kakashi. Also Ino and Sai, you two are in a relationship and both have suitable skills for this mission as well."

Ino, we can use your ability to contact your family members over a distance. And Sai, your ability to send messages over a distance as well, so if either is incapacitated the other will be able to keep us informed and ask for back up if needed. As the only two not proficient in hand to hand combat, you are to avoid direct conflict at all costs. Am I making myself clear?" She glared at Ino and Sai who nodded in acknowledgment.

Kakashi, Sai, Genma you will be posing as staff. Genma, you have been hired as bartender. You can keep an eye on the drinks that way. Sai you have been hired as a toilet attendant. Most people will let loose the most surprising information in a toilet as they assume it's safe. You will watch both male and female toilets. Kakashi you have been hired as a bouncer. You will need to Henge your face and dye your hair as it's too recognisable."

The three males chorused "Hai Hokage-sama."

She turned to the three females.

"You three are the patrons and bait. The kidnapper doesn't seem to have a preference as long as the girl is pretty. You three together should gather a lot of attention, which in this case could be just what is needed to worm this guy out. Ino, you are in a relationship with Sai. No need to hide that, in fact it might be more natural, considering you three will suddenly appear on the scene at the same time as the males. Perhaps if you start coming to the club because your boyfriend works there it will make it more plausible."

Sakura, The Daimyo's men have a sample of the toxin used to drug the girls. I want you to study it in your free time and come up with something that will counteract the effects. If anyone is drugged it's your job as field medic to try and heal them by any means necessary. Also, if you feel the mission is jeopardised or too dangerous, you have the power to abort over the team leader."

Amaya, your hand to hand skills are above Sakura and Ino's - in fact you're above Genma and Sai - you are basically the body guard. You and Kakashi's partnership will come in very handy for this mission, you need to be able to communicate without being seen, and I'm sure you guys almost know what the other is thinking, use that, you will need it."

The girls all nodded with a strong "Hai."

One final thing, we don't know everything about this, only that girls are missing and it's suspected that they are drugged. Be aware that we don't know what happened to the ninja's in Haru no Kuni, or their hidden village. Be very wary of using chakra unless it's essential. As an extra measure, I had these seals crafted specially for missions like this."

Shizune picked up a box and opened it. "Inside are chakra inhibiting seals; one for each of you. Place it anywhere on your body. Somewhere easy to reach but not somewhere you touch regularly. Near the top of your ribs or inner thigh is best." They all took one seal each.

"Put them on when you're nearer your destination. We will imprint the counter seal on one of your index fingers. If you are captured or in danger simply swipe your finger seal over the place with the chakra seal is to break it and you will have your full powers back instantly. And everyone, this isn't a suicide mission. I want everyone to come back intact; no heroics, just one person acting the hero could endanger you all. You will all meet at the front gates at 7am sharp tomorrow morning."

"Hai Hokage-sama" they all bowed and went to leave.

"Oh, and Amaya?"

"Hai Hokage-sama?"

"Make sure Kakashi is there on time."

Kakashi rolled his eyes as he waited at the doorway for her, Amaya bit down a giggle before replying.

"Hai Hokage-sama." She walked out the door feeling excited, not only her first real mission in a long time but her first partnered/group mission ever. She tried to hide a jaw cracking yawn.

"Straight to bed with you, young lady." Kakashi chuckled.

Amaya glanced up while flushing. She smiled while thinking she really needed to stop seeing innuendo in everything Kakashi said to her.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**


	12. Chapter 11 New Faces, New Places

**A/N Woohoo I'm on time this week ;) well thanks to my beta, Againstnormal, thanks to my poof readers Pazzy and Bry, guys I PROMISE I will get chapter 17 written soon, I just need to find a muse, something inspiring lolz.**

**A huge thank you to you, my readers. and yaaayz we got a little bit of lime in this one, not quite a lemon but its getting there ;)  
**

**~Disclimer~ I don't own nothin' ya hear? nothin' at all, I'm innocent I tells ya.**

Chapter 11 New Faces, New Places

Everyone was talking as they left the Hokage's office and closed the door behind them. Four expectant faces turned to Kakashi.

"Amaya, I want you to go over the girl's roles. I personally don't have the expertise in kunoichi seduction to be much help there and I trust your judgement." Amaya flushed at the unexpected compliment. "Sai, Genma, we need to come up with a back story. I've got the mission scroll here so we can all read it over as well. We can do all this at home. Amaya, can you take everyone now and I will quickly get some things we need?" He disappeared in a curl of smoke and a soft *poof*.

"Hai Kashi-kun." Amaya's head was spinning; what the hell was going on. First they had been ordered on a great mission – _well, great in her eyes - a_nd Kakashi had basically given her the vice captains role. On top of that was the warm feeling in her chest when he said 'home', not our house, but home. Did he really see her small abode as his home now? She blinked before she realised everyone was watching her again curiously. She groaned inwardly, she needed to get her head out of the clouds today.

"What's everyone standing about gawking for? You all know where our house is."

With that everyone turned, leaving the building. They all jumped for the rooftops, chakra enhanced leaps ensuring they made it in no time.

Amaya offered everyone tea, she searched the kitchen but it seemed they were all out. She sighed loudly. "Gomen everyone. It seems we ran out earlier today.  
Kakashi came through the door at that moment, "Who wants tea?" He waved the bag in front of Amaya with a grin on his face. "You really need to keep track of when stuff runs out dear." He laughed as he side stepped around her playful slap to his arm. "Maa maa Maya-chan. That's not nice, how could you abuse me like that in front of our guests?"

Amaya growled a promise of pain later, grabbing the mission scroll from Kakashi's pouch before turning and ushering everyone to sit. She unrolled it on the low coffee table, everyone leaning over to read it silently as well.

She sat back on her heels thinking for a minute.

"Hmm, OK Sakura, I know you're not very comfortable with proper kunoichi seduction." Sakura went to protest, but Amaya held up a hand to stop her. "It's no use pretending if you can't hide how it really makes you feel. As Kakashi has asked me to brief you girls, one thing I want to do is state right now that none of us are under any obligation to actually have sex with anyone." Sakura looked visibly relieved, Ino simply raised an eyebrow which was echoed by Sai.

"We may be bait, but this isn't a rapist. Normally a rapist mission goes: - we seduce/play the victim, then we kill once they are distracted. In this case however that wouldn't work. We do need to attract him though so Sakura I think you should play the shy, coy girl" Kakashi came in with the tea. Once everyone was settled again she continued.

"Ino just be yourself, well, not completely yourself. Try and listen and watch more. We don't know how he administers the drugs yet so you have to be alert and _not_ checking the talent out." Ino tried to look outraged. "Stop right there Ino. You know it's true, we all know its true, so don't even start." Ino settled for a glare instead.

Kakashi added his bit to Amaya's little speech.

"Genma, as Amaya said we don't know how the drugs are administered, as the barman it's your responsibility to watch what they are drinking, do _not_ serve them alcohol. Sai, you are in the bathroom so listen to everyone. Anything suspicious, try and remember what was said to who and by who, try and remember their faces and voices as well."

"Hai Kakashi-senpei. Can I ask Senpei? What will you and Amaya-sama be doing?"

"Me and Amaya? Well I am being hired as security, which means it's my job to watch everyone; that includes you guys, the staff, and the patrons. Amaya will be playing a patron as well; she will be trying to attract the kidnapper's attention and also try to protect Ino and Sakura if the need arises. Ino because she is needed for her long range communication skills and Sakura for her medic skills. Now Ino and Sai, you two are partnered, you are both in a relationship. Sai, do you think you know Ino well enough to know if she is acting even the smallest bit strange?"

"Hai Senpei. I think I would notice if something was odd about her." He turned and gave Ino a small smile which she returned.

"Very well, if you see anything out the ordinary, find Sakura and get her to check Ino over, make sure she hasn't been drugged. I will do the same with my partner. If Maya acts even the slightest bit strange I will drag her over to the field medic for a check up." Amaya smiled him.

"Ano Kashi-kun, I'm not stupid enough to get myself drugged accidentally."

"That doesn't matter Maya-chan, this drug could be edible, injectable or airborne. You could end up compromised. Remember, even you aren't 100% infallible. Sakura, you and Genma are paired up. I know you two haven't had a lot of field experience together but hopefully it will still work."

He threw a nondescript bottle to Sakura.

"Your hair dye, I hope you like 'deep chestnut brown', it's a natural one so you can use it on your eyebrows as well. You can use the bathroom here to do your hair now and the girls can help with your eyebrows. Or try at home, but do not leave it till morning as we will be leaving early."

"Hai Kaka-sensei. Oh, one thing I wanted to speak to you about," Kakashi raised a slender silver eyebrow. "Tsunade-shisou has requested we suppress our chakra, but even with your hair dyed your scar is still recognisable." She left unsaid that he would have to have his mask off for the duration of the mission as well, and she knew he was feeling extremely uncomfortable with that idea.

"Um, well," She continued, "Shisou taught me her Creation Rebirth. I can craft you a small crystal that will place a permanent henge on your face until you remove the crystal. You will need to refill the chakra every two days though, but that shouldn't be a problem; all you have to do is find somewhere extremely busy so anyone who does sense your chakra won't be able to pinpoint it accurately."

Kakashi's eye crease looked almost overjoyed. She had solved something that was playing badly on his mind. It wasn't that he was self conscious; it was just that his face could be distracting to others, and he meant that with the least amount of vanity possible.

"Arigatou Sakura-chan, I would appreciate that very much." Sakura beamed with pleasure.

"I will get started on the jutsu tonight. It would be better if you still dyed your hair though, the less chakra I have to use making the henge imprint the better. We can discuss your facial preferences later."

Amaya handed Sakura a towel she had fetched from the linen cupboard.

"Is that everything Kashi-kun?" Amaya asked. He nodded.

"OK. Sakura, Ino, come with me please." She took Sakura to the bathroom and left her there to do her hair. She led Ino to her bedroom and sat her on the bed.

"Right Ino, we are going to need clothes." Ino's eyes lit up with excitement. "But we don't have time to go shopping." Her face fell again. "Can you help me look out clothes for us to wear? I assume you have stuff yourself at home. And I will bet money on Sakura not having much." Ino confirmed her suspicions. She knew they would need to dress like the other civilian girls so would need outfits to wear at the club while they were working.

By the time Sakura came through with her hair wrapped in a soft towel, Ino and Amaya had looked out an outfit for Sakura and four for Amaya,

"Sakura you need to either find things to wear that are similar to this or we will go shopping with you when we reach our destination. Ino is going to look out clothes when she gets home as well. Both girls nodded.

A little while later Kakashi popped his head past Amaya's bedroom door, his newly dyed black hair flopping over his eyes. "Ne can I borrow Sakura-chan? We need to discuss my henge" He gave the girls an eye crinkle as Sakura stood to follow her sensei.

"And Ino, Sai is going to be leaving soon, he said you both need to pack for the mission." With that he disappeared.

"Amaya-chan? Can I please borrow this dress?" Ino looked pleadingly at Amaya while holding up a long dress of black velvet. Amaya quirked an eyebrow at her choice.

"Um yeah you can borrow it as long as I get it back. That's my 'special occasions' dress that I wear for official functions."

"Hai. I just want to borrow it to model for Sai. He said my clothes are all too slutty to model in, that he may as well paint me nude instead." She grinned wickedly at this statement. Amaya laughed lightly.

"Hai Ino-chan. As long as you only 'model' in it, I do _not _want to wash strange stains out of it."

Ino shot her an incredulous look before laughing and shaking her head. "Iie Amaya-chan. I have better outfits for that kind of thing." The blonde grinned wolfishly.

Eventually everyone left, leaving Kakashi and Amaya alone again. They spent the rest of the evening talking quietly while sharpening their mission weapons and packing their mission backpacks, before heading to their respective bedrooms for sleep.

Amaya was still laying there an hour later, staring at the patterns the shadows made on her ceiling. Today had been interesting, she realised she would need to speak to Sakura properly though about her crush. Now the pink haired kunoichi knew who it was on, and the fact she couldn't just ignore or avoid him without getting into serious trouble. Well at least they weren't going to be alone any more. That had to be a start. She decided to not worry about things that hadn't happened yet and rolled over just as sleep began to overtake her.

Kakashi lay there, hands linked behind his head. That was quite some revelation at the barbeque, but who was she interested in? Had she been meeting up with other people while he was at the memorial stone in the mornings? He was with her the rest of the time. He sighed deeply, he had been aware of his growing attraction to his spitfire partner.

He had tried to ignore it. From what he had seen she wasn't interested in anyone at all, so he had stopped from acting on it as much as he could in such close quarters. To find out that in fact she was capable of feeling attraction had been a bit of a surprise. He felt a perverse sense of pleasure though from her obvious discomfort, she wasn't happy with it. It made her feel uncomfortable then.

He really shouldn't feel pleased that it wouldn't work out. He should be trying to support his partner in all aspects. He shook his head and tried to drag his thoughts back to the mission. It was no good; her dark haired form was firmly implanted in his minds eye tonight. He sighed deeply before he rolled onto his stomach and waited for sleep to come and drag him away.

The team had all met at the gates on time, Amaya dragging Kakashi, as she had threatened to that morning at breakfast. Kakashi gave them all their instructions after Tsunade and Shizune came to see them off and remind them of the no heroics rule and to watch out for each other. They all entered the forest at a full run and, taking easily to the trees, they travelled north quickly.

The group was pretty much silent for most the day, but after stopping in a clearing for lunch everyone relaxed a bit and quiet conversations, between the girls mainly, began. Everyone was excited and nervous at the same time. They travelled like this for the new few days. Only stopping to eat or sleep, either in the towns they came across or camping in secluded spots. The air became thinner and colder the further they progressed.

Sai and Ino looked peaceful sleeping in each others arms for warmth near the fire later that night.

"No Genma! Why can't you get body heat from Kakashi?" a shrill voice called out breaking the nights silence. Both males turned incredulous looks towards Sakura.

"Are you serious?"

Amaya stifled a laugh at Kakashi's tone.

"I would rather freeze to death than sleep in that pervert's arms."

"Oy, Kakashi! I think you will find you're a bigger pervert then I am." Genma looked indignant. "Please Sakura. I swear on the safety of my balls that I won't do anything untoward." He gave her the biggest hang dog expression he could. Sakura sighed as she relented.

"Fine. But you try anything, even breath wrong and Sai will be calling _you_ dickless." Genma gulped loudly.

"Hai Sakura-san." He opened his sleeping bag and laid it flat on the ground near the fire. They had arranged their tents so all of them were open but facing inwards, it left a gap in the roof for the smoke to be released, but they had shelter from the winds and the sides also reflected the fire and body heat back into the middle, but even with that it was still below freezing now.

Kakashi had set up a perimeter jutsu, one that would alarm him should anything larger than a fox come too close. Sakura walked over with her own sleeping bag unzipped. She lay down, back facing to Genma, and pulled the sleeping bag over them both. He snuggled closer to her, his head resting on her shoulder as both settled down for sleep, leaving Kakashi and Amaya the last ones awake.

He glanced over at her as she shivered slightly while staring deep into the flames. She was trying to hide how cold she was, but he could see the tiny trembles.

"Come here." He said quietly. She looked up at him with confusion writ across her face, the firelight making her eyes as dark as a night sea.

"I know your freezing. Now come here, or do I have to come over there and drag your ass?" She stood whilst taking a deep breath. He had noticed she seemed to be distracted recently, quite deep in thought most of the time. Normally he would have left her to her thoughts, but this was a mission and he needed her to be at 100% attention and alert. She sat next to him and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She went board stiff.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong, Maya-chan?"

"What do you mean Kashi-kun? Nothing is wrong."

"Don't lie; you have been tenser than a cat in a dog house the last couple of days. Even now I'm trying to give you comfort and heat and you are almost ready to run off."

Amaya looked at him quickly, she sighed hard and her posture relaxed instantly.

"Gomen Kashi-kun, I just needed to get some stuff sorted out and I never got the chance before we left Konoha."

"The guy you like right?" Her head whipped round again.

"Nani?"

He chuckled quietly. "I think everyone worked out what you and Sakura were really talking about, so why are you so distracted by it all?"

"Oh it's nothing. I was trying to keep it quiet because I was asking for advice on how to get over my crush. He doesn't know and I know he doesn't feel the same. So its better this way."

"You haven't told him yet?"

"Iie. And I don't plan on telling him either. Like I said, he doesn't feel the same. He only sees me as a friend and comrade, and I would rather not destroy a good friendship for the sake of my hormones."

He nodded slowly, absorbing everything she was saying. She liked a guy, he didn't like her back and she was trying to do the mature thing to save a working relationship and valuable friendship. He could relate to that right now. Even so...

"How do you know he doesn't like you if he doesn't even know? Any man would be lucky to have you, and if they didn't treat you like a princess they would have to deal with me beating them to a pulp."

She laughed breathily, the sound sent a shiver up his spine; her equally quiet answer "Is that so Kashi-kun?"

"Hai." He said puffing up his chest causing her to laugh quietly again.  
"OK. Then say it was you?

"Nani?" He glanced down at her.

"What if it was you? Would you still want me to tell you that I had feelings for you?" She quirked an eyebrow up at him, praying he wouldn't be able to hear her heart hammering. This conversation was a little too close to one she desperately wanted to have and avoid at the same time. She leaned a little closer to him, still speaking quietly so they wouldn't disturb the others sleeping.

"What if I turned round to you right now and said I had feelings for you, and had for a while? What would you do? Would you reject me right off? Would you be honest with me? Would you use my affections to get what you want?"

Kakashi heart nearly froze as her breathy voice continued asking what he would do if she confessed to him. What would he do? He would grab her and drag her away, that's what he would do. But he knew she was speaking hypothetically.

"Um, well if I was him, I would at least give us a chance." He replied, trying to surreptitiously wipe his sweaty palms on his pants.

"Iie Kakashi, that's not what I asked." Amaya said a bit louder. "I asked what would _you_ do? Not put yourself in another mans shoes and tell me what he should do." She pulled back a little to look up at him properly.

"Ah. Well Maya-chan, I can't honestly answer that question. We aren't in that situation anyway, so it doesn't matter." He tried to close down this conversation. He didn't want her thinking he had been perving on her the whole time they had been put together.

Amaya frowned, opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and then opened it again.

"Uh... well. Kashi-kun." She took a deep breath and…

"_**Genma!**__ Get your fucking hand __**off**__ my breasts __**now!**_" Sakura twisted and punched Genma hard. He rocketed between the tents into a tree, dropping onto the frozen ground with a groan.

"Ah Sakura! I was having such a nice dream. What happened?"

"It seems your 'dream' involved groping me." Genma looked terrified as he realised what he had been doing. His hands flew down to protect his delicates from the raging medic.

"Don't worry Genma I won't harm them, but you're lucky that you were genuinely asleep."  
She turned to Amaya and Kakashi, sitting on the other side of the fire. Both looked amused and slightly annoyed as well.

"You two should go and bed down. We will go and do a quick perimeter check; I can't sleep now and Genma will be in too much pain until I care enough to heal him."

Amaya smiled gratefully and lay down in her sleeping bag. The smile slowly slid from her face as she realised that; 1 - she had very nearly confessed to Kakashi after telling herself she would get over him; 2 - Sakura had obviously been awake the whole time and, even though their conversation was quiet, she would have heard it; and 3 - Kakashi was walking towards her, sleeping bag his in hand, fully intending to sleep beside her.

She knew this might happen. She needed to control her emotions better, this was her friend, her team mate and partner. She moved up and smiled at him as he crawled next to her. He wrapped them both in his warm sleeping bag before draping his arm across her waist, pulling her towards his chest.

She froze until he snuggled down a little more, getting comfortable before taking a deep breath and seeking sleep. Amaya stole a quick glance up at his relaxed masked face. If he wasn't bothered by the closeness then neither would she be, plus she could get used to this comforting warmth. She smiled gently as she relaxed down into his chest hearing the steady beat lull her to sleep.

They travelled like that for a few more days and nights. The last night she realised with a pang that they would be reaching the city at noon the next day. That this would be the last time she would fall asleep in Kakashi's comforting embrace and wake to listen to his steady breathing before the camp roused. If anyone had noticed Kakashi and Amaya's bad mood during the last days travel no one said anything, and just gave the two jounins a wide berth instead.

They had discussed their back story, deciding that Ino and Amaya would go to the club for a couple of nights together first. They were to 'ask' about jobs for their 'boyfriends'. Everyone had agreed that it would look extremely suspicious if three new staff and three new patrons all appeared on the same night. Kakashi and Genma were to search for accommodation as soon as they arrived. Amaya and Sai were to recon the local area, and Sakura and Ino to go and replace any equipment they needed and to get some food for the group.

They all met back at a small café. Kakashi had found and rented out three small apartments for them. They were all fairly close, but not enough to arouse suspicion. Sai had checked the area and said there was nothing of immediate danger that he could see, the local populace, though not well off, certainly weren't poor or hard done by. The buildings were the same, not opulent but not dilapidated either. All things pointed to a kidnap/slave ring that was not based within the city, but they would cross that bridge when they came to it.

Kakashi informed them all that as of then they were, for all intents and purposes, couples: Ino and Sai. "Obviously." Was the muttered reply from Ino. Sakura and Genma; he gave Sakura an apologetic look and warned Genma to be on his best behaviour and to not use this as an excuse to grope the field medic in public.

This left him and Amaya. He gulped quietly. Since their talk a few nights ago beside the camp fire, things had felt slightly different between them. He had the distinct feeling she was holding herself back from him, like he was a poisonous snake that might bite her. He couldn't understand why. She had almost opened up to him about why this silly crush was affecting her so badly, until Genma and Sakura had disturbed them. He had also noticed Sakura giving him strange looks as well now.

Well no matter, this was how Tsunade had planned the mission pairings; he just had to hope his partner wasn't too distracted by whatever was bothering her. They all left for their own apartments, the girls having already agreed to drop their stuff at their temporary homes and then go shopping for mission outfits. They told the men they would met them at Kakashi and Amaya's apartment for dinner and a quick briefing before Amaya and Ino left to begin their part of the mission.

The first night, and the rest of the week, went very well - except that they still had no leads. Genma, Kakashi and Sai had integrated well with the staff. Sakura, Amaya and Ino had been coming to the club while their 'boyfriends' worked. They were introduced to other staff's partners; often joining the much larger group of females for a couple of dances and drinks before moving to the side to pretend to talk while they scoped out for anything unusual.

All six team members were becoming a little bored really. Night after night they had been coming and nothing strange at all had happened. They started to worry that someone had spotted them already and was avoiding the place until they left.

The second weekend came and the girls were getting ready at Sakura's apartment this time.

"How much longer will we have to do this before the mission is aborted do you think?" Amaya looked at Sakura. She knew Ino was having the time of her life; she was in her element here.

"I don't know Amaya-chan. At least until we either get a strong lead, capture the culprit and find the missing girls, or the Hokage sends us word to return." She glanced up as Amaya put the finishing touches on her make up and smiled at her.

Hopefully we will catch the bad guy, save the girls, and we can all go home tonight." They all started laughing at the ridiculous optimism.

Kakashi tried to not sigh as yet another drunken woman trailed long fingernails down his chest while whispering loudly in his ear something along the lines of meeting her in the bathroom/after the club closed/tomorrow during the day. The henge he and Sakura had come up with shocked the leaf shinobi to a certain extent.

He wanted to be unrecognisable as himself, so he has got her to make the henge similar in facial build to Juugo. The insane monster that had travelled with Sasuke all those years ago. A strong square chin, straight nose and surprisingly gentle eyes. The main differences were the colouring. Juugo was quite tan compared to Kakashi. Also he had decided on leaving his eye colour dark, with his black hair flopping around his eyes he could almost be taken for a distant relative of the Uchiha.

He had been worried about being mobbed with his own face, what he hadn't expected was so many women being attracted to _this_ one. He bemoaned the fact to Amaya, she had turned and snorted about him being arrogant enough to believe that only he would have women flocking? That Juugo was a very handsome man when he was calm. That his gentle demeanour and eyes would quite possibly draw in a lot of women, especially ones who had been exposed to the tougher side of life.

Kakashi's eyes had narrowed as he felt a twinge of jealousy he could almost hear the '_women like me'_ after that statement. He knew he wasn't the only man to grace the face of the earth, what he hadn't expected was the partner he was hiding feelings from almost stating that she found the psycho attractive.

It started a new train of thoughts. Did she find him more or less attractive in his henge? He knew he would never try to find out and he had tried to ignore her after that. Both were acting angry and hurt with the other and it was starting to feel like when they first became partners as he caught yet another dirty look flashed in his direction.

He looked down at the inebriated woman swaying in front of him with what she assumed must be a seductive grin on her face, he gently grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around before walking her over to her friends.

"Can you ladies keep a close eye on your friend please?" He gave them all a smile, "I would hate myself if anything happened to any of you within my club." He smiled again before turning away from the pouting girl who was now being held up by blushing and smirking friends.

He walked back to his post and scanned the crowds, a quick glance to Genma and Sai told him they still saw nothing strange. Amaya had her back to him. He could see how tense she was; her shoulders almost hunched and her hands in tight fists. Ino was eying up every male in the area and Sakura, well she was giving him a strange look again. He sighed before turning his attention to his job.

Amaya ground her teeth. Ever since the first night they had all started working Kakashi had been acting like he was on vacation. Flirting with everything in a skirt. She had thought she wasn't his type and that was why he hadn't shown her anything other than the friendly courtesy due a close friend of work partner. Maybe he knew what had happened to her and he didn't want to deal with that kind of baggage? She could feel the rage bubbling inside her threatening to spill out and burn everything it touched like acid.

He had even asked her about why girls would be attracted to him; she had been almost incandescent with anger then. It was like he was rubbing it in that he would go for anything female, just not her. Just now she had glanced over to see if everything was OK or if he'd spotted something, only to find a diminutive blonde leaning on him whispering in his ear. He had a small smile on his face as he listened then his eyes had turned and locked with hers. She had realised he _was_ rubbing her face in it; he must have realised what she was confessing in the forest.

"Amaya-chan are you OK?" Sakura looked very concerned. She looked over at Kakashi and back at Amaya. She knew the older woman was still suffering from her crush, and watching Kakashi acting like a tom cat wouldn't be easy either. She gave her former sensei a hard look when he looked over again after walking away from the blushing, giggling, gaggle of girls he had seemed to have acquired. She knew Amaya didn't want him to know about her crush but Sakura might have to tell him and ask him to use his discretion a little more. This was going to jeopardise the mission if it carried on.

"I'm fine Sakura-chan. I am going to go and get some fresh air then refresh my drink. Just give me 20 minutes, ne?"

Amaya grabbed her overcoat; even though the snow had all but melted from the Land of Spring, it was still winter and below freezing outside. She walked out the side exit, leaving the door jammed open so she could re-enter without having to go round to the front door again. She leaned again the rough brick wall and took deep breaths of frigid air.

The cold biting her cheeks and nose cleared her head very quickly. She shouldn't get so angry with Kakashi, sure it wasn't nice having your nose rubbed in this but for the sake of the mission they had to get on with it like adults. She growled, deciding to ask Tsunade to reassign her partner when she got back.

"Are you not cold standing out here?" a soft baritone asked.

Amaya turned so fast her neck snapped and popped. Damn, she hated not having access to her chakra; she should have been able to sense him coming near her otherwise.

"Iie, I don't feel the cold as such." She looked him over critically.

His hair was quite short and stylishly messy, a dirty blonde colour, and he had chocolate brown eyes with thick dark lashes. He stood nearly the same height as Kakashi with much broader shoulders. Wearing a loose pair of dark blue dress pants and a white shirt, the top two buttons undone. With his dark blue jacket slung over his shoulder and one hand in his pocket he slouched against the opposite wall in the alleyway.

"I could ask the same of you though. What are you doing out here?"

"I needed to get some fresh air. All the bodies pressed so closely inside makes it very claustrophobic at times." He stood and walked towards her, warm brown eyes twinkling. "And you?"

"The same, my friends are waiting for me though; I said I would be a few minutes then get more drinks from the bar and meet them on the dance floor." She stood and turned towards the door. "I should go. It was nice speaking to you though."

"Yuki!"

"Huh?" She turned back.

"My name. It's Yuki. Sato Yuki." He smiled gently as he held out his hand to shake.

"Tseuchi Mai." Said Amaya giving him her code name before shaking his hand with her own gloved one gingerly. "I really should go back through Sato-san." Suspicion was racing though her mind now.

"I will accompany you to the bar then Mai-san. And please, just Yuki, Sato-san is my father." He grinned as she smiled a little wider at his gentle joke. "Shall we?" He gestured her to enter before him, placing a hand on her back as they walked back into the thumping beat and sweaty heat of the club.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock when she saw Amaya walking back into the club with a very handsome man following and talking to her. Ino nudged Sakura in the ribs.

"How the hell did she pick him up? Wow, where was she anyway? I hope she didn't pick him up in the bathroom, that's just nasty." Ino's mouth turned down in disgust at the thought of Amaya trawling the men's bathroom stalls for someone to drag off.

"Iie, she had gone outside for some fresh air. I wonder who he is though. We should go over there we don't need any more distractions."  
Ino mumbled something about Sakura needing a distraction or to at least pull the stick out her ass.

The two kunoichis wandered arm in arm over to the bar where Amaya and the mystery guy were conversing.  
"Mai-chan! _There_ you are. We have been looking for you." Sakura nearly yelled over the music. Amaya turned towards Sakura and smiled sweetly.

"Yuki-san this is Kin-chan," She gestured to Sakura, "and Ama-chan." A wave to Ino. "Kin-chan, Ama-chan this is Yuki-san. We were talking outside." She turned to hand the girls some fresh drinks

"Hey babe," Sakura turned her incredulous look from Amaya to her senbon sucking mission partner. He gestured with his head to lean closer. And planted a kiss on her once she was near enough. "Are you girls having fun tonight?" He sent a pointed look at Yuki.

"Hai baby, Mai-chan just needed some fresh air and this _gentleman_ escorted her back inside."

Yuki's eye brow rose slightly at Genma's possessive act. He may as well have stood on the bar and pissed all over the pink haired girl while loudly proclaiming "_Mine. Mine. She is all mine!" _

He instead turned fully towards Genma and handed him some cash.

"Here, I would like to pay for a round of drinks for these beautiful ladies." When Genma made no move to take the money he placed it carefully on the bar. "Well it has certainly made my night to have met such charming and lovely ladies as yourselves." He offered them all a small bow before taking Amaya's hand and raising it to his lips, his eyes locked onto hers, admiring the small blush that appeared at the gesture.

"Ittekimasu." He turned and walked away giving them all a warm smile.

"What the hell are you playing at Amaya?" Sakura hissed once the man had left.

Amaya frowned at the medic. "Trying to enjoy myself. What the hell does it look like?" She hissed right back. "I'm sorry that I'm not as much of a prude as you Sakura-chan. But some of us need to let our hair down before we explode. Come on Ino, you want to dance while we search for suspects?"

Ino nodded dumbly before Amaya took her by the arm and marched her off. Leaving Sakura gaping after her friend.

The truth was Amaya didn't feel very well. She felt a little dizzy. She felt a little too hot. She felt a little different, like something was loosening inside her, that a tight grip that had been choking her was relaxing and she could breathe a little. She didn't want to snap at Sakura like that, but the words came out before she could stop them.

She and Ino stopped next to a full length mirror embedded in the wall to check over their outfits, make up and hair. Ino was in what could only be described as a deep purple bikini with the smallest skirt Amaya had ever seen, long blond hair swept up in its usual style, with smoky grey eyes and glossy raspberry lips. Ino leaned over and tugged at her top, trying to adjust herself into a more comfortable position before turning round to straighten the back of her skirt.

Amaya smoothed her hands over her outfit - if it could be called that. Ino had insisted on this one. Sparkly, dark blood red material was looped around the nape of her neck. It swept past the front of her shoulders, covering her breasts, crossing in the middle. It wrapped around her hips and her lower back before wrapping twice around her thighs and tying at the side of her left hip. It left her entire back bare, and she had initially felt extremely exposed so had taken a sheer coat to wear over the top.

The beat began to change, getting slower and deeper. It thrummed through her chest. The vibrations causing her to swing her hips a little more. The bass was so strong that every thump seemed to make her vision shake slightly. She half closed her eyes as Ino took her hand and led her into the middle of the dance floor.

As she swayed to the beat she ran her hands up her neck and through her hair, lifting it gently and letting the feverish skin on her neck cool down a little. Lowering her hands she slid the sheer coat off her shoulders and glanced into the mirror, watching everyone behind her.

Kakashi had to stop himself from rushing over and beating up the guy Amaya came walking back in with. He had to trust her, this might be their target. A glance at the group at the bar though told him a different story; Everyone was looking angry and glaring at the blonde man. He eventually left before Amaya and Sakura snarled at each other. He was shocked. He had never seen Amaya look so angry, he thought she was about to drag her nails down Sakura's face; instead she turned and dragged Ino off to dance instead. The two kunoichi checked their appearances in the mirrored wall before going to dance.

The song changed to a more exotic beat and a woman's voice rang out, sultry and smoky. Amaya's hips swung slowly, following the rhythm of the song. His eyes watched her hands as they slithered up her smooth skin into her hair lifting it to expose her slender neck. His mouth went dry as her hands moved down to her shoulders and slowly slid her see through coat from her shoulders to puddle around her feet. Her hands continued down, lightly caressing her ribs, the side of her breasts.

He gulped. A hand slid down her taut stomach, Her back rippled as the beat throbbed, hips snapped out, head tossed back. She undulate like a snake again before her hips snapped out again. Building a rhythm. He could barely tear his eyes away. When he eventually did, his onyx gaze locked with her malachite one in the mirror. His breathe caught in his throat.

She had seen him watching her, no that wasn't right, she had wanted him to watch? She was teasing him. What the hell kind of game was she playing? He growled but he still couldn't tear himself away from watching her, Her eyes slid slowly closed.

_Oops, there goes my shirt up over, my head  
Oh my_

Her hands slid up her sides into her hair. Hips swivelling in time,

_Oops, there goes my skirt droppin' to my feet  
Oh my,_

Slender fingers caressing their way down to swishing hips, raking nails over her thighs,

_Ooh, some kinda touch caressing my legs  
Oh my,_

Her fingers tightened their grip on her thighs slightly, while her hips ground back arching her back,

_Ooh I'm turning red  
Who could this be?_

She moved her hands slowly back up while opening her eyes and turning. She squeaked in shock as Kakashi grabbed her upper arm and, with a firm shove between her shoulders, he began to drag her away.

"What the _fuck _are you doing?" She spat out once as he spun her around, slamming her back against the wall in the corridor between the bathrooms.

"What am I doing? I'm not the one acting like a common bar room whore."

Amaya's eye narrowed in anger. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to slap him.

"What are you doing Amaya? This is supposed to be a mission. Not some sort of holiday."

"I'm not the one trying to screw everything that walks Kakashi."

"Nani? I have been nothing but professional this whole time..."

"Professional?" She nearly laughed.

So that's what you call it when that little blonde was nearly licking you earlier tonight?"

She did laugh then, this was ridiculous. Her vision swam again, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut. Her head lolled back against the cool wall. The sounds from the club were fading and coming back. The heavy beat still vibrating through her body. She suddenly felt extremely claustrophobic. Amaya raised her hands to Kakashi's chest and tried to push him back.

"What's wrong with you? Are you blind?" He was nearly ranting, his anger over her constant dirty mood finally causing him to snap a little. "That little slut and her friends have been coming on to me the whole time we have been here. If you had been doing your job and been acting like I was your partner I wouldn't have to keep turning them down. And I would be able to keep my eyes open for the kidnapper instead"

He stared at her face. The first time she had walked through without her facial wraps, all dressed up for the mission, he had nearly lost control and dragged her back into the bedroom.

"Kakashi... the kidnapper... well he... "She began quietly. He pulled both her hands away from his chest, pinning her wrists either side of her head. Her eyes snapped open. Lips parted in a gasp.

"L-l-let me go Kakashi." She whispered. Her chest felt tight. He was so close she could feel his breath on her lips, without her bandages she felt extremely exposed. She was entirely too aware of his lithe muscled body pinning her smaller form against the wall. She sucked in sharply, her chest pressed into his.

Her eyes were like liquid green fire. She was so angry and Kakashi could see something else there as well but couldn't pinpoint it. His nose filled with the scent of jasmine, his emotions heightened and Amaya squirming in his grasp slightly he leaned further down.

"I saw you." He rasped. She froze.

"Nani? Saw me? Saw me when?" Confusion slipped over her face.

"Just now on the dance floor, I saw you. You were teasing me." He felt rather than saw the sharp breath she took, pressing her breasts into his chest.

"Iie. I-I wasn't, I wasn't teasing you Kakashi. I was just dancing."

"I know you were. I saw you making sure I was watching."

She swallowed lightly. Drawing his attention to the small movement her throat made.

He moved closer, her breath ghosting over his lips.

"You really shouldn't tease. I can only take so much."

He slid his lips over her soft, parted ones, before pressing against them firmly. A jolt went through him as she sighed softly, her eyes fluttered closed. As she moaned his tongue quickly darted over her lips, testing her. She responded, her tongue flickering out against his, her hips shifting slightly against him.

He groaned as her tongue slid against his. He kissed her more deeply. Releasing a slender wrist his hand slid down her neck. His calloused thumb traced her delicate jaw. His fingers trailed down warm skin. Raking his nails across the exposed skin at the side of her breast. Enjoying the goose bumps that appeared at his touch.

He moved his mouth, trailing wet kisses to the side of her throat, eliciting another moan. A shiver ran down his spine at the sound. He flicked his tongue and bit down on her neck, smiling as she squirmed and grabbed his hair with her free hand.

He released her other wrist, and ran his nails down her ribs. Her body trembled. His other hand gently cupped her breast; he rubbed his thumb over the hardening nipple through the thin material. She groaned, almost feraly. He smirked, this was much better then he had dreamed.

His mind was going fuzzy, out of focus. All he could see was the tiny woman in front of him. Maybe he had read her wrong and she was attracted to him in some small way. Lifting his head from the red mark on her neck he crushed her lips in an aggressive kiss, swallowing the small sounds she was making, that were encouraging him. His thumb flicked over her stiffened nipple again he pinched it lightly...

~_A hot mouth, teeth grazing over her breast before white pain as he bit down hard, her warm blood flowing down her chest..._

Amaya's eyes flew open. "No." She gasped "Stop. Please."

"It's OK. Just relax Maya-chan." He murmured before capturing her lips with his again. She sighed as her body relaxed again. Kakashi was kissing her. Something she thought would never happen. Her mind was spinning. She gripped the back of his neck, pulling him closer. Raising her leg she ground against him. He groaned loudly and responded immediately with a push of his own. She arched her back off the wall. His hand slid down grabbing her hips firmly. His other hand twisted her nipple gently through her top, while pulling her hips harder against him...

~_Rough hands grabbing her hips, and pulling her forward. Sharp pain, and blood, and humiliation._

Amaya flattened against the wall completely. Effectively moving her body as far away from Kakashi's as she physically could at that moment.

"Kashi-kun stop. Please." She asked quietly. As his eyes opened she could see the lucidity flow back as he came to his senses and the hot lust drained. He noticed first the position the two were in and the fact that Amaya was looking at him with terrified eyes, unshed tears turning them liquid. Second, he realised in how public a space they were. And third was Sakura storming towards him with a face hell bent on causing him some extreme pain.

He moved back quickly.

"Kami! Maya-chan I'm so so sorry. I have no idea what came over me."He had only meant to take her somewhere quiet to tell her to get her mind back on the ball and do her job, not to feel her up in a hallway. He watched in horror as, instead of answering him, her eyes slid shut and she started to slide down the wall. He caught her before she hit the floor, by which time Sakura had reached them both.

"I saw what you were doing. You do realise now that she has been drugged right?"

Kakashi gulped as it hit him that the behaviour he had been shouting at her about was exactly the kind of behaviour he was supposed to be watching for. He nodded dumbly at Sakura. Panic written clear across his face.

"You will finish your shift here, Sai will help me and Ino get her home. If anything happens Sai will send an ink rat to inform you." She told him coldly.

He lifted the unconscious kunoichi and took her over to where Sai was standing. The young artist had probably witnessed everything that had happened as well. He laid Amaya carefully in his arms placing her hands on her stomach and moving her head so it rested on Sai's shoulder.

"If I ever see you take advantage of her like that again," Sakura continued, " I will personally castrate you, ex-sensei or not."

He nodded in agreement.

"We will talk about this when you get home tonight. I will speak to Genma, I think you should stay with him for a couple of days so you will need to pick up some clothes."

Kakashi ground his teeth. He hadn't been taking advantage, not consciously. She was taking this a bit far.

"Iie Sakura-chan. I will be staying in my own accommodation, as befits the cover we have been assigned. I will however vacate the bedroom for her."

Sakura nodded curtly before she and Sai turned to get Ino and head home. Neither of them could believe how close they were to the kidnapper. Maybe Amaya had known but as the drug took effect it had brought her emotions to the forefront and came out as anger. Kakashi watched at they carried out the prone form of his partner.

He was supposed to protect her and he had failed, in fact he had probably made it worse. He shook his head and glared as one of the bar hussies tried to come over to him again once he took his post. He was in no mood now. Plus she had accused him of trying to flirt with these women. No, Kakashi was not very happy at all right now.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**


	13. Chapter 12, Mornin'

**A/N Well here it is, another week another chapter. I've already finished writing this arc now. I feel kinda sad, just the epilogue then I will take a short break before starting arc 2.**

**OMG I LOVED writing this chapter! Seriously, it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling until I went blind with jealousy *grumbles*. I hope you guys like it as much as I enjoying writing/reading it (yes I do read my story as well)**

**Many many thanks to my readers, (and my loyal reviewer) a massive thanks to Againstnormal, Pazzy Neechan and Bryan, *sniff sniff..sobs* its kinda sad that I won't be harassing you guys for the new chapters.**

**This chapter contains a fluffy sweet lime ~Kyaaaa 3**

**~Disclaimer~ I don't own Naruto no make any money from this. I don't know anyone stupid enough to PAY for my crap ;)**

Chapter 12 Mornin'

Sai carefully placed Amaya down on the double bed while Ino went to get some towels and fresh water in a bowl.

"She has a temperature, so Ino? Can you keep her face and neck damp? Sai, thanks for helping us back with her."  
Sai gave Sakura his patented smile.

"That's quite alright Ugly. Though even I am shocked by Kakashi-senpai's behaviour tonight. It's very unlike him to lose control like that." Sakura looked sharply at him.

"What do you mean 'lose control?' Sai you saw the entire exchange, yes? What exactly happened?

Sai carefully sat down on the foot of the bed; He averted his eyes as Sakura loosened the red cloth covering her friend's chest.

"Hmm. Well I saw him half dragging half pushing her from the dance floor to the corridor between the male and female bathrooms. He looked very angry, as did she. He accused her of not acting professionally, to which she accused him of the same. They had raised their voices to each other, then she calmed down suddenly and pushed him. He shouted again and she tried to speak to him. Instead he leaned in and whispered something to her. Then they were kissing. You walked in about 30 seconds after that." Sai looked thoughtful as he recounted the incident.

"Now I think more about it, Kakashi-senpai is within his rights as Team leader to berate her as he started, but his entire demeanour changed suddenly."

Sakura tapped her chin thoughtfully before swiping the seal on her thumb across the chakra inhibitor on her hip bone. Sakura flexed her fingers, leather gloves creaking with exertion. It felt good to have her full chakra control back, as she hadn't had any for nearly two weeks.

"Well we know that Amaya has been drugged somehow." Sakura sighed, she gazed down as her friend shivered and writhed on the bed sheets. "First things first, let's see if we can remove the drug from her system."

Sakura filled her hands with healing chakra and starting at the crown of Amaya's head she worked her way down slowly, frowning in concentration. After ten minutes she asked Ino to dab Amaya's forehead with the water as she moved down her cheeks to her neck. When she reached Amaya's chest she hummed thoughtfully. She moved her hands quickly to the left of her chest and her frown deepened. She finally moved her hands down towards her stomach, her expression looking grimmer all the time. She finally sighed and leaned back onto her heels.

"Well the good news is the drug doesn't cause any organ or tissue damage." Sakura said, as Ino smiled in relief. "The problem is I can't remove it from her system."

"Sakura, what do you mean? You're the top poisons specialist in the Fire Country. Surely you can remove this?" Ino looked worried again.

"Iie Ino, the drug seems to have attached itself to her chakra cells; I can't remove the drug without removing her chakra. but as her body naturally replaces her chakra it will destroy the drug. To a civilian it wouldn't matter much; they have so little chakra that they would never notice it anyway. But a ninja? This is going to be rough on her tonight."

"How long is she going to be affected?" Sai asked.

"I would say two maybe three days, the maximum a week."

Until then though there really isn't much we can do other than keep an eye on her."

Amaya groaned, drawing everyone's attention instantly. Her eyes cracked open a little as she attempted to peer at everyone surrounding her.

"What happened?"

Amaya clutched her head as she tried to sit up. Her stomach rebelled as the room lurched and span. She threw herself out of the bed and into the bathroom, reaching the toilet just in time for the acid to hit porcelain instead of the floor. Sakura was there holding her hair and stroking her back. Then everything faded again and she was in her bed, with someone offering her a cool drink of water; she gulped it down gratefully. Shit! she felt awful. She remembered meeting a guy she felt suspicious of, even if she was flattered by the attention. From the way Sakura was fussing and the way she felt she knew she had been drugged. Kuso!

"Shit, it feels like I've gone three rounds with Tsunade with my hands tied behind my back." Amaya joked weakly while carefully sitting up again. She scrunched her eyes asking "Can someone turn that light off please? It's hurting my eyes."

Someone got up and the lights blessedly disappeared, it was replaced by the soft glow of her bedside lamp.

"OK, did anyone leave a tracker tag on Yuki?"

Sai looked blank; he knew nothing of Yuki, Sakura and Ino exchanged glances.

"Um gomen Amaya-chan. We never thought to. Well we thought..."

"You both thought I was just being a whore, right?" Amaya stated bluntly. Whatever had been forced into her system was working wonders for her tact. She snorted with laughter at that thought. Sakura and Ino gave her worried looks again.

"Well, as pissed off as I was at the time, I am not stupid enough to fall for the cheap lines that Yuki was trying to feed me. I can't understand how he managed to drug me though. I had meant to lead him over to you guys and somehow we would take him and question him. I started feeling strange just before we reached the bar though. Sakura I'm sorry, I never meant to snap at you the way I did."

Amaya looked shamefaced as she remembered what she had said to the medic.

"Maa maa Amaya-chan. You have nothing to apologise for." Sakura waved a dismissive hand. "OK, so we know he administered the drug sometime between you meeting him outside and before you reached the bar?"

"Well it wasn't injected I would have noticed that, nor was it put in a drink as I didn't have one outside."

"You didn't breathe it in either," Sakura interjected, "Otherwise there would be large concentrations in your lung capillaries. This leaves absorption through the skin. Did he touch you at any point?"

Amaya thought hard. "I don't think so. We talked outside but he didn't come close enough to touch me, and he offered to walk me to the bar, but I didn't touch his arm or anything like that." Her voice trailed off as she remembered the brief warm touch between her shoulders.

"Oh. Actually he did touch me, just once and briefly. He 'guided' me as I walked through the door. He placed his hand on my back between my shoulders, something very innocuous. I would never have thought of it."

She went pale as she realised how dangerous the situation really was. Here she was, a highly experienced kunoichi, trained to see death in every shadow, but she was fooled by a nice smile and an innocent hand on her back. She wondered what would have happened had Kakashi not got to her when he did. Kakashi. What the hell was that all about? One minute he was accusing her of trying to jeopardise the mission, the next he was whispering in her ear and kissing her. She sighed as she remembered his hot mouth on her, and then recalled she wasn't alone.

"Ne Amaya? Do you mind leaning forward; I want to check your back."  
Amaya shook her head and complied. Shivering as she felt something cold sweep across her shoulders.

"Shit." Sakura swore. "Sai? Ino? Can you two go and look for Kakashi and Genma please. You may need to help Kakashi home."

The two looked shocked and quickly left to find the two friends.

Amaya could feel sleep dragging at her mind again. "What's wrong 'Kura?" She slurred slightly.

"The drug wasn't completely absorbed by your skin. It left some residue. Sai mentioned that Kakashi started acting weird as well and I'm a bit concerned that he may have come into contact with the drug too."

Amaya wrinkled her nose as she stared muzzily at her friend.

"Umm. Yeah. 'Kashi touched my back 's well." She sounded drunk; Sakura then realised just how hard Amaya was fighting to stay conscious. "When he dragged me offa dance floor, he had my arm and pushed me with 's other hand."

"Shit." Sakura swore quietly again. She had berated _him_ when he was drugged as well. "Shit shit shit." Could this evening get any worse? Not only did she have two of their best shinobi out of action, it had been done under her nose and she wasn't able to heal them either. And to top it off, they had let the suspect walk out of the club because she had been arguing with someone who, for all intents, was his next victim.

The front door banged open.

"Sakura! Can you come and help us." Ino shouted through.

Amaya tried to rise up but Sakura pushed her back against the bed. "Stay here, I will see to Kakashi. Don't worry."

"Kura!" Amaya called. Sakura turned and looked at her prone team mate. "Bring 'm through here. I wanna make sure he's OK." She slid over towards the wall, leaving the open side of the bed free for Kakashi.

"Amaya-chan, I'm not sure..."

"Jus' do it. Please. For me." Her eyes rolled again. Sakura could see she wouldn't give in without fighting.

"Hai Amaya-chan." She said quietly. She walked through and told them to lay him beside his partner. Kakashi was still conscious, but barely. He was hanging between Genma and Sai presently. Kakashi tried to stop them taking him into the bed room he normally shared with Amaya.

He turned a bleary eye towards his ex student. "Sakura. Just leave me on the sofa. I will be OK."

"Iie Kaka-sensei. I need to make sure it's the same drug." Kakashi's eyebrows rose at this. "And Amaya wants to make sure you are OK as well. She should be sleeping the worst of the drug off but she is in there fighting with everything she has."  
Kakashi grinned suddenly. Looking as drunk as Amaya did in the other room. " 'Ats my girl." He muttered.

Sakura leaned in and said quietly,

"Gomen Kaka-sensei. I really shouldn't have said the things I did. I didn't realise you were drugged as well." Kakashi tried to look at her.

"When you touched her back you transferred some of the drugs to your own skin."

Genma and Sai carefully helped Kakashi lay down on the bed. He glanced at Amaya, he felt a twinge when he saw her. Her skin was flushed, almost glowing with the fever she was fighting off. In fact he could feel her body heat from where he lay. Her eyes looked heavy and dull. He could see her shivering. As she felt the bed shift she lifted her eyes to his. Kakashi could see how much pain it caused her to perform even that small movement.

"Kashi-kun?" She almost whimpered.

"Maya-chan. I'm here. it's OK. You need to go to sleep now." He felt her small warm hand brush against the back of his fingers. Once she had assured herself that he was in fact there she let her eyes droop. Sleep claiming her almost instantly.

He turned a pained look to Sakura, who was busy checking his chakra through his chest and stomach.

"I take it she can't remember what happened tonight?"

She flashed him an unreadable look "Can you guys go and wait in the living room until I'm finished please?" She looked over her shoulder at their team mates, who nodded and filed out the room.

"I will make some tea Sakura-chan" Genma promised before closing the door quietly behind him.

Sakura sighed. "She can remember everything that happened. It seems the man she brought back, he said his name was Yuki, well it seems she was suspicious of him and was hoping to bring him in for questions. He unfortunately drugged her before we got to her, and the drug makes most people erratic at best." Sakura looked hard at the shinobi before her. His henged face looked miserable.

"She is gonna hate me isn't she?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I basically molested her in a public place didn't I? And don't ask me why I did, I just did. I know she isn't comfortable with her personal space being invaded. I also know she has a crush on someone back home, she doesn't plan on telling him either. Did you know that?" Sakura nodded, the two had spoken about it before. Sakura found it unbelievable that Amaya, it seemed, had apparently confessed to Kakashi and he still didn't see it. She thought only Naruto was that dense.

"Kaka-sensei?"

"Hai?"

"You like Amaya-chan don't you?" The drug was stronger than she had previously thought; she could read almost every emotion on his face. The one that surprised her the most was hurt. She held up her hands before he tried to lie to her about it.

"Don't Kaka-sensei, your face says it all."

"Iie Sakura-chan, you don't understand. I'm not gonna try and force myself on her." He paused. "Well no more than I did tonight." He groaned, putting his hands to his face. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Kakashi, it's not you. The drug affects your judgment to a certain degree. Sai explained that you started off berating her as a superior would a subordinate who was out of line."

He nodded. "Seems we both thought the same thing as the other. She accused me of not doing my job properly and flirting with women." Sakura snorted. "I wasn't. Part of mine and Amaya's cover is that we are a couple, yet she has avoided me like the black plague since we got here. I told those women I was seeing someone and I even pointed her out. They now think I'm some poor kind soul with an evil harridan who doesn't even care."

Sakura's dyed eyebrows nearly disappeared. "Nani? But I've even seen you flirting with them." He quirked an eyebrow.

"Really? In all the time you have known me, have I once gone for a civilian woman before?" She shook her head. "Let me tell you something. I have never once flirted with a woman and not gone home with her. Tonight one of the drunker ones came over and was mumbling something at me. I saw the dirty look I got from Amaya and the look from you as well, so you both saw my interaction with her, yes?" Sakura nodded.

"Where were my hands? Did I whisper back to her? Did I attempt to get more of her attention?"

"No. You took her back to her friends and they..." Her voice trailed off as she saw it for what it really was.

"Gomen Kaka-sensei."

"Look underneath the underneath. I'm very sure I taught you that rule already."

Sakura gave him a wry smile, wondering why he didn't use that rule himself and see Amaya properly.

Genma called to Sakura that the tea was ready. She told Kakashi to get some sleep as she turned to leave he grabbed her wrist.

"Ano Sakura-chan, one more thing." He looked nervous."Um, when I was kissing her I pulled back and she looked at me, but she looked terrified; I never wanted to frighten her." Sakura's eyebrows stitched together as she listened. "I want to let her know I'm sorry but I don't know how to, or at least how to let her know I really mean it."

Sakura held up a hand, "Kaka-sensei. Amaya went through some awful stuff. It's not my place to tell you, but I can assure you she isn't scared of you but of a memory. It's up to her to tell you though, not me, so you can ask her but I don't think she will tell you. It's very painful for her to remember her past at all really." Sakura looked downcast. "Go to Sleep Kaka-sensei. I will clean everything up and we will come and check on you both in the morning." She left and closed the door quietly behind her.

He twisted his head to watch Amaya sleep fitfully. Raising a finger to trace her brow he carefully tucked a strand of hair from her sweaty forehead. She moaned quietly, green eye cracked, "Kashi..." She whispered.

"Shh. I'm here." Feeling guilty again for waking her.

Her hand reached for him again. Finding his hand she threaded her slender fingers between his before sighing and falling sleep again. The last thing Kakashi remembered was the warmth of her tiny hand and her quick, shallow breathing.

A quiet bang woke her up.

She sat upright. The room span. Her eyes spotted a dark shape in the doorway.

"Mornin'." The shape rasped. Her eyes began to focus, Kakashi swam into view. Leaning against the door frame, hair dishevelled, in nothing but a dark pair of loose pants that hung dangerously low on his hips. His henge eyes looked concerned. He balanced a tray in one hand, using the other he pushed himself into the room and, swaying a little, he placed the tray on the nightstand beside the bed. He lifted a plate with toast and placed it down on her lap.

"Hungry?"

She grabbed the toast and began to shovel it in. She nodded gratefully while he chuckled.

Her senses were coming back to her quickly. She was in her bedroom, _their_ bedroom. She was still wearing the outfit from last night, though it had been loosened. She was absolutely starving, and even though the nasty side effects of the drug were gone she could still feel it coursing through her veins; heating her from inside, like her blood was made of fire.

Her eyes darted about. She felt tense and nervous. She remembered Sakura saying Kakashi had received a dose of the drug from simply touching her. He didn't seem angry though. She felt stupid. She had harboured a tiny hope last night that he had kissed her because he wanted too, not because some stupid drug made him do it. She remembered a moment of terror though as the past and present overlapped each other, "_with one big difference, Kakashi was not trying to rape me_." She felt a little better as some of her nerves calmed.

"Gomen Kashi-kun." Her head dropped down, she was too ashamed to look him in the eyes now.

"Nani? You have nothing to be sorry for Maya-chan." He sat on the edge of the bed looking at her. He hated seeing her this down. He slowly slid a finger under her chin, lifting her face to look at him. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes.

"Iie. It's all my fault. I thought if I didn't let him near my drinks, well he wouldn't be quick enough to catch me to inject me so I assumed I was safe." The tears began to fall. "Not only did I put myself in serious danger, I jeopardised the entire mission. You were right last night. You should contact Tsunade-sama and ask for me to be replaced." Kakashi froze in shock; this strong girl was reduced to tears because of that tiny incident.

"Maya-chan, none of us knew how the drug was administered; now we do, and because of you. If I hadn't been... well, let's just say I should have seen you were acting out of character. And I'm so sorry about what I did." Kakashi shifted nervously. He had hoped to butter her up a little before he offered an apology, but he couldn't stand to see her upset. Especially since it was his job as Team Leader to protect him team. He grabbed her gently by the shoulders.

"I really am sorry. I know what you're going to say,' that I wasn't myself, blah blah' but I should have been protecting you not... well, I should have been taking care of you." He looked down. He found it impossible to meet her stare right now. He gulped, expecting her to suddenly remember that he had basically forced himself on her, but when the expected slap didn't come he peeked up.

Her brow was creased slightly, eyes thoughtful. Her lips trembled a little. "Iie. Never say sorry for that." She whispered. She raised a finger to her lips. Eyes glancing sideways. "You shouldn't say sorry for kissing someone Kakashi. I know that you wouldn't do that if you hadn't been influenced by the drug in your system."

She looked so sad. Kakashi couldn't understand. "No, I do need to apologise." She finally looked up and into his eyes... "I saw the look in your eyes, you were terrified..."  
She frowned sternly at him.

"No! That was not you. Whatever was in my system was messing with my memories. When you kissed me, my mind overlaid a memory from my past." She looked at him again, the emotion in her eyes almost too painful for him to watch. She suddenly smirked "I'm pretty messed up in the head."

He snorted. "Same here." With a rueful smile on his face. "Believe me, you don't want to get into a 'who is more messed up' contest with me."

She smiled sadly at him. "Why? Are you worried you would lose?" She chuckled darkly. "I know you lost a lot of people close to you, I lost everyone I knew as well, but at least you have the memorial stone to grieve for them. I have nowhere." Tears flooded her eyes suddenly.

He released her chin, instead wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He breathed in deeply, savouring the heady scent of her. He buried his face into her hair, realising belatedly that he was still obviously being affected by the drug and he was acting inappropriately again. He tried to move away from her again, until he felt her arms snake around him, pulling him closer. Her breathing slowed down again and she slowly relaxed against him. It was so quiet now he thought she had fallen asleep against him.

"Kashi?" Her voice muffled against his chest. He pulled back to look down at her. Her face was streaked with tears, he rubbed his thumb over them smiling gently at her.

Kashi-kun? Can... Can I um...?" She raised a hand slowly, reaching for the black crystal on his forehead that Sakura had given him. She wanted him to remove the henge. Her eyes questioning as her fingers brushed its cool surface lightly.

"Maya-chan." He whispered. "I don't have my mask on though." He swallowed.

Her cool fingers tightened around the small onyx hidden under his hair.

"I just want to see your eyes. I-I ... well I just need something familiar right now."

His heart constricted hard. The almost pleading look on her face coupled with her words. She wanted to see him, she _needed_ to see him, for comfort. Could he have been wrong in reading her?

He nodded to her, saying silently she could proceed. She carefully pulled the chakra crystal from his forehead. He felt a slight chill go over him as the henge dissipated.

Amaya gasped; she had just wanted to see his eyes. She had lived with them for over a month and had grown used to them; she had almost forgotten she hadn't seen his full face yet. Her eyes roamed greedily over him, taking in his slender chin, straight nose, and high cheeks, his half hooded eyes giving him an indolent air, while the long scar bisecting his left eye made him look dangerous.

He smirked at her childlike wonder causing her to suck in sharply. A dimple appeared on his right cheek when he smiled, making him look even more rakish then before with his hair flopping down. He used her distraction to peruse her face with the same fervour. Even though he had been seeing her face since the mission officially started she still wore bandages unless they were at the club, and he never got to see her properly and up close before.

Her full bottom lip and arched Cupid's bow were parted slightly, her narrow chin rising sharply to high cheek bones and straight eyebrows. It was her eyes that caused him to catch his breath. Thick black lashes surrounded wide expressive eyes; her irises had several bands of different shades of green. A mix of bright forest greens, yellow spring green with almost black around the edges. Once they had wandered around his face, they moved up to realise he had been looking at her as closely as she had been him. A light blush dusted her cheeks.

Kakashi disentangled one arm from around her. He watched as his fingers gently raked through her black hair "_So soft."_ He thought to himself. A single finger traced the shell of her ear and down her neck causing her to shiver. His eyes snapped back to hers again. He leaned forward as she whispered "Ka... ka...shi..." She tilted her face up towards him, meeting his lips with her own. Eyes sliding closed as his hand softly caressed her cheek. She nearly melted. She couldn't breathe. Sliding a hand down his shoulder to rest on his chest, belatedly remembering he only had his pants on when she felt her hand grazing skin. Kakashi moaned quietly at her soft touch.

The fingers of his other hand traced small circles on the bare skin of her back; she arched slightly, sucking lightly on his bottom lip as she did so. Kakashi stifled a low growl that started in his throat...

"Kaka-sensei! I'm very sure I told you last night you were on no circumstances to take advantage of Amaya again."

Amaya and Kakashi's heads whipped round. Sakura stood in the bedroom doorway, hands on hips, and looking absolutely livid.

"Can you not control yourself? Do I really have to play babysitter to make sure you stop molesting my patient and your partner?"

"I am right here you know." Amaya growled. She wasn't so ill that she had no independent thoughts or ideas of her own.

"And as far as I knew I was still able to make certain decisions myself, or have I dropped so far in your estimation as a kunoichi that I been rendered incapable?" Amaya could feel a cold anger start to build up.

"Gomen Sakura-chan." Kakashi dropped his head and looked ashamed. Amaya was absolutely incredulous. Why was he acting ashamed? As he tried to rise from the bed Amaya tightened her grip on him.

"No! No this isn't right. Why are you sorry Kakashi? Are you ashamed you kissed me?" She looked up at him. "Are you embarrassed? Am I really that undesirable?" She felt like her chest was being crushed, she was supposed to be getting over him but she had entertained the thought, for a few seconds, that maybe he could like her too. How stupid was she?

He stroked her face again, and smiled sadly. "Maya-chan, I should not be taking advantage of you; these drugs affect our judgment a bit. It drops inhibitions and may be affecting your faculties more than you realise, I had less of the drug so I'm more aware than you are."

She turned to Sakura and said quietly, "I can't keep doing this. I have to say something" Sakura frowned. She understood what Amaya was talking about.

"Are you sure?"

"Hai. I can't do it any more, I thought I could handle it till I got home but I can't."

Kakashi glanced between the girls, looking confused.

"I do understand. OK I see you have had something to eat, but it's nearly lunch time. Do you two feel up to going out for lunch?" They both nodded. "Alright. Kakashi I'm warning you now, anything happens to Amaya-chan it will come out on your testicles. Other than that, after you two talk I will be waiting in the front room with everyone else." She turned and walked out, closing the door behind her quietly.

Kakashi stared at the door. What the hell was going on? Sakura was ready to kill him and Amaya calmed her down instantly. In fact, she seemed OK to leave them together alone. Amaya took a very deep breath.

"_It's now or never."_ she thought to herself. "_Shit, what if I've got this wrong?" _She looked up at Kakashi's handsome face and sighed inwardly.

"What's wrong Maya-chan?" His deep voice broke her from her reverie. "What are you two talking about?" He was worried. She could see it all over his face now.

"Do you remember when we were travelling to the city? The third or fourth night we were talking by the fire while everyone else was asleep?"

"Aa." He said in confirmation.

"And you remember what we were talking about?" He nodded, brows furrowed. "You skirted round the question when I asked if it was you, what would you have me do? I'm asking you again now, if I turned round and confessed to having feelings for you what would you do?"

Kakashi's head was swimming. Was she really getting at what he thought she was? Had he really been that blind? Suddenly he was very aware that she still had one arm tightly round his waist, the other pressed against his chest. He tried to speak but his throat closed up. He swallowed, his tongue felt thick.

"I-if, if it was me, I would want you to be honest with me." He tried to control his breathing, noticing with satisfaction she seemed to be having the same problem.

Amaya's eyes seeked his again. She wanted to tell him, but her tongue refused to move. The look he was giving her sent electric down her spine. She couldn't move, she could hardly breathe.

"I... well... The um the crush I have..." She stuttered. She took another deep breath, "Well I have feelings for you Kakashi."

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Henge~ A jutsu that can change the appearance  
**

**ugh, And I really hate the part where Sakura and Kakashi are talking about his 'flirting'. I know its cheesy, but damn I couldn't think of anything better then to inflate his ego to monumental proportions, sorry guys :S  
**


	14. Chapter 13, Kisses

**Chapter 13, Kisses**

"I... well... The um the crush I have..." She started. She took another deep breath, "Well, I have feelings for you Kakashi."

Her eyes napped up to his, trying to gauge his reaction, Kakashi simply gaped. He felt dumbfounded. He had kind of hoped that she did find him attractive, but when he found out about her crush he assumed that she never would see him as anything other than a colleague, a friend at most.

"Um, Kakashi?" Amaya felt extremely nervous. She had put herself on the line, "_Kami, have I just made a huge mistake?_"

"How long?"

"Nani?" Amaya was finding it hard to keep looking at him.

"How long have you felt like this? Why did you not tell me before? It's not like you haven't had the opportunity to do so." Kakashi's mind was reeling. He noticed she lowered her head, looking guilty.

"Since just before we made our first jutsu together. Well, as far as I was aware." She dropped her eyes to her clasped hands folded on her lap, her fingers digging in so tight her knuckles where white. "I'm sorry," She whispered, "I was going to try and get rid of these feelings, but we were given this stupid mission instead."

Amaya took a long shuddering breath, trying to calm her frayed nerves. She had gambled and missed. She had admitted how she felt and he had simply looked shocked and started asking loads of questions, in fact he sounded quite angry.

"Gomen Kakashi-san," She suddenly spoke very formally. She stood abruptly, marched towards her drawers and pulled out some clothes. She was still dressed in the scrap of cloth from last night and Amaya was painfully aware of this, and of the fact that the skirt part was riding dangerously high as well. She needed to be clean. She needed to eat. And most of all she needed to be covered and less exposed, so as to hide away from the man she had just humiliated herself in front of.

"Maya... stop." Kakashi spoke softly. He had just realised that Amaya was suddenly up and grabbing clothes, her face bright red in embarrassment. She ignored him and, instead, bent to search under the bed for a pair of flat boots.

"Amaya." He said a bit more sharply. Amaya flinched at the slight whip in his voice.

"Kakashi, just forget I said anything. I'm being stupid, it would be better if we just forgot it. Please."

"Amaya stop."

"NO! Look it's bad enough that I said anything at all, I knew I shouldn't have..." She threw a hand to her head as she was overcome with a wave of dizziness.

A warm, strong arm went round her waist, catching her. Amaya opened her eyes slowly, and lifted them from his broad chest, up his neck to his jaw, taking in his lips – which seemed to be quirked into a tiny smile – then upwards further, until she met his dark eyes.

"Kakashi. Let me go please." She could barely breathe, he was so close she could feel his breath ghosting across her face.

He leaned in further, pinning her against the wall gently.

"Maya-chan," He murmured, "Be quiet."

With that he lowered his face. His lips softly brushed against hers, sending a jolt through them both and making her gasp quietly. He used the opportunity to slowly drag the tip of his tongue across her mouth, dipping in to barely taste her. She groaned into his mouth causing his heart to start pounding and sweat begin to prickle along his back.

Amaya's fingers tentatively slid up Kakashi's sides, over his chest, and up his neck to tangle in his hair. She slowly grew bolder, her tongue flicked out against his, and she felt him smile against her mouth. She shivered as he stroked her neck with his finger tips. Tilting her head, Amaya deepened the kiss slightly. Kakashi growled in the back of his throat, pressing himself more firmly against her petite frame. The hand that was trailing through her hair slid down around the back of her neck, gripping firmly, while his arm around her waist pulled her closer to him.

All Amaya was aware of was the warmth of him pressed against her. She writhed, almost moaning as her nipples grazed his chest, her heart hammering almost painfully. She lifted a knee and hooked it over his hip. Kakashi growled louder as the action caused her to grind into him. He pushed back with his hips, eliciting a delightful moan.

Kakashi's fingers tangled themselves in her hair. Grasping a handful he pulls her head back, exposing her throat to him. Her mind began to turn hazy as hot kisses and licks worked their way down her neck. Nipping where her shoulder and neck join sent a jolt through her, she ground hard into Kakashi, gripping both hands into his shoulders pulling him closer.

Her nails were digging in; causing small sharp pain that was mingling with the pleasure. Kakashi buried his nose into her slender throat, breathing in her scent deeply. As she pushed against him again he had to bite back a moan, slipping his arm from around her waist he grasped her hip. Lifting and pulling her towards him, he felt his self control begin to slip again. He released her hair and lowered his other hand to grab her thigh. Lifting it over his other hip, taking all her weight, he pressed her hard into the wall. He heard her moan quietly into his ear before her wicked tongue slowly traced the edge and her teeth nipped the lobe, pulling gently...

Kakashi quickly pulled back, earning an annoyed noise from Amaya. There it was again, that timid tapping.

"Ano. Kaka-sensei? Amaya-chan?"

Kakashi lowered Amaya to the ground as quickly as he dared. Hooking one arm around her shoulders he pulled her over to the bedroom door. Amaya was acutely aware of just how dishevelled she looked right now, especially since she had flopped out of bed and Kakashi had been messing with her hair as well.

Sakura stood there looking flushed and embarrassed.

"Are you two nearly ready to come for lunch? Everyone's waiting on you."

Amaya promptly turned bright red. She wriggled out of Kakashi's grip. Grabbing her clothes, which had been dropped on the floor, she entered her bathroom to quickly get dressed and clean her teeth and face.

"I will be five minutes Sakura-san," She called over her shoulder before closing the door quickly behind her.

When Amaya and Kakashi walked into the front room, they were confronted by a smirking Ino and Genma, a blank faced Sai - though he seemed amused (not that anyone could tell, because his face didn't change), and an acutely embarrassed Sakura.

Amaya tried to ignore the obvious leers coming from Genma as the girls walked into town, Sakura and Ino either side of their older friend. The men walked behind them talking quietly. Amaya couldn't hear exactly what was being said but she could guess it was along the same lines as what Ino was spouting at her.

"So you 'n' Kakashi huh? How long you been screwing each other then?" Ino grinned suggestively. "Is he as hot as everyone says he is under that mask? No, actually I wanna know is he as much of a pervert as everyone thinks he is?"

Ino's eyes lit up with excitement. She had tried to talk to Sakura about her hot sensei before, but to no avail. Sakura just didn't see him that way. Here was someone who she could, and would, grill for info on one of the hottest Shinobi in Konoha.

"Oh you have to dish the dirt now. How the hell did you keep it a secret?"

Amaya nearly snarled in annoyance.

"Buta. I think you should shut up now." Sakura sent her blonde friend a warning look.

They eventually reached the restaurant. Once everybody had sat down and ordered something to eat, four pairs of eyes swivelled to Kakashi and Amaya. Kakashi looked as disinterested as only he could do under such pressure. Amaya try to swallow quietly but she could swear that even the elderly couple sitting the other side of the restaurant could hear her gulp.

"So" Amaya scratched the back of her neck nervously, not used to such scrutiny normally. "About last night. Aha ha. I am sorry everyone, I didn't mean to get drugged by the target." She bowed towards her team keeping her eyes downcast. Kakashi nearly snorted with laughter, he knew she was trying to take the attention away from what was obviously going on between them now.

Ino looked deviously between Amaya and Kakashi. "You know we don't care about that Amaya-chan," she sang sweetly, "What we all want to know is how good Kakashi in between the sheets."

Amaya chocked hard before turning bright red. Kakashi looked stunned for a second before he schooled his facial expression into disdained boredom again.

"W-w-what?" Amaya managed to splutter out

Ino grinned evilly, and she pushed again. She was determined to get all the dirty little details. Hell, she might even get some new tricks to use with Sai!

"What Maya-chan means is we haven't had sex, Ino-chan," Kakashi gave her a tight lipped smile. As much as he could just ignore the nosey blonde, he knew it was making Amaya uncomfortable and she was still suffering from the effects of the drug from last night, though not as strongly.

Ino snorted in a most unladylike way "Yeah right. Kakashi, I _know_ what you two were doing next to the bathroom last night, remember."

"Plus we were all waiting in the front room for you two not long ago" Genma added his own thoughts, giving Kakashi a knowing look. "What I wanna know is how long you guys have been at it." Genma leaned forward on the table, senbon flicking from one side of his mouth to the other, his brown eyes widening in interest.

Amaya had recovered from her earlier shock, and it was being slowly replaced with extreme annoyance.

"As Kakashi has said, we haven't had sex. Ino, what happened last night in the club was because Kakashi and I were drugged." Genma shot Kakashi a shocked look, he had known that Amaya was drugged but how did Kakashi get caught out? Amaya continued her angry tirade. "Further more, what we were _talking_ about this morning is no ones business but our own." She emphasised the 'talk' part while glaring at everyone sitting around her.

Since this doesn't affect the mission, or our covers, it has nothing to do with anyone else."

As Amaya sat back a waitress came sauntering up to the table. She was a tiny little thing; an elfin face, big blue eyes and masses of wavy black hair tumbling to near her waist.

"What can I get you all to drink?"

Sakura peered over Ino's shoulder and ordered herself a green tea from the menu her friend was holding, Ino ordered the same. Amaya asked for just a glass of cold water with lemon, as she was still feeling a little ill. Then the waitress turned her attention to the men at the table.

"And for you gentlemen?" She fixed the three of them with, what she probably thought, was her most seductive smile.

Sai ordered a glass of water as well, completely oblivious to the woman's antics. She turned her blue gaze to Kakashi.

"And you sir?" She nearly purred at the henge'd jounin. Kakashi gulped as he felt Amaya's nails dig into his thigh under the table. He stole a glance at her and sighed in relief inwardly when he saw she wasn't glaring at him but the flirty waitress. "_If this girl didn't back off she was going to be dealing with a very angry kunoichi_." Kakashi thought as he heard Amaya growl quietly.

"I will have a beer, arigatou." He gave her a small, fake smile and placed his calloused hand over Amaya's on his leg, stroking the back of her fingers until her hand began to lose its death grip.

She turned with a slightly sheepish look when she realised what she had been doing.

The tiny girl turned her attention to the grinning Genma.

"And for you sir? Anything you want?" She breathed at him. Genma was kneeling directly in front of her; he was twisted round to try and look at her properly. She leaned forward to face him more directly, as she did she pressed her thighs against his back

"I would prefer it if you took your legs _**off**_ my boyfriend and did your job properly."

Everyone at the table could feel the killer intent rolling off Sakura in waves as she hissed at the waitress. Genma chuckled.

"I will have a beer as well." He smiled at the waitress while wrapping an arm around Sakura and pulling her close. The dark haired girl almost didn't hear him as she was too busy staring at Sakura, terror surging in her eyes.

"Huh? Oh! Hai, arigatou sir. I will have all those sent over immediately." She nearly ran off, stealing peeks behind her to make sure Sakura wasn't following.

"What the hell was that Sakura?" Amaya and Ino both exclaimed as they leaned forward.

"What? Nothing. There is no way I was going to sit here while she rubbed herself against my mission partner especially since our cover is we are a couple." Sakura tried to explain away her actions but failed. Amaya and Ino knew she was lying, it was written all over her face, plus the pout that appeared on Genma's face after Sakura's brief dismissal of her reaction to the smaller woman flirting with him, said a lot too. Amaya's mind began to fit the pieces together. They probably weren't official; she remembered the possessive kiss Genma gave Sakura in the night club after she brought the target over. Could it have been happening then? Or did it begin because of that? She knew she was going to be ganging up with Ino later that day to get some answers out their medic.

Their drinks arrived shortly after that, along with their food. Everyone decided to change the subject; the girls knew they would grill Sakura later. Ino was looking forward to prying all the dirty details from both her female counterparts. And Genma, well Genma was going to try and get some real information on Amaya from his friend, like what colour panties does she wear? What was she like in bed? Is she as wild as she seems? The list went on. Everyone decided to talk about everything but the mission and any potential relationships.

The girls went shopping for more clothes while the boys searched out some weapon shops. After having dinner together as a group at Kakashi and Amaya's house again, Sakura told Kakashi and Amaya she would need to give them both a quick check over.

She gave them a normal civilian check up; listening to their heart beats and lung function, checking their blood pressure. Looking down their throats.

She eventually grunted with satisfaction. She picked up a small torch and, as she was checking Amaya's pupils, said,

"Well you both seem as fine as can be expected. Amaya you won't be able to come tonight, or tomorrow night. Kakashi you're OK to come tonight though."

Amaya pouted at that, she didn't like the idea of sitting at home all alone tonight.

"Now Amaya, I want you to rest up, OK? The more you rest now the quicker you can come back, OK?"

She knew her friend didn't like feeling useless.

"It's OK Sakura-chan, I know that I'm compromised right now. I will just catch up with mission paperwork."  
Kakashi grinned - that meant he wouldn't have to do all the paperwork this time.

"OK you two, we have to leave now but we will be back in two hours to go to work."

Kakashi and Amaya walked everyone to their front door to say goodbye. Kakashi smiled softly as he closed the door. Amaya flopped down on the sofa looked thoroughly dejected. Kakashi grinned at the pouting woman. He sat next to her, pulling her to his chest before burying his face into the top of her head. He closed his eyes, relishing the quiet moment they had alone, finally.

"I could have ruined our entire operation." She whispered so quietly, he would have missed it had he not been sitting so close. She sniffed,

"As soon as I got suspicious I should have come back in and let you guys know somehow. I let my emotions cloud my judgement."

"Maya-chan," Kakashi said softly, he hooked a finger under her chin and tilted her head to face him, "We are all frustrated with this mission right now. I'm sure if it had been anyone else they would have tried to take him out themselves as well. I'm just lucky you decided to try and lure him into the bar. It's us who should apologise. We should have recognised that you weren't yourself and what you were doing."

Kakashi lowered his lips to brush gently over hers; he smiled at her sharp breath when they grazed each other. Sliding his hand from her chin to the nape of her neck Kakashi pressed their lips together more firmly. Amaya slid the tip of her tongue across his top lip, moaning quietly when his warm tongue came out to caress hers.

Amaya felt a pleasurable warmth begin to spread from her stomach, up her chest and down between her thighs. She felt bolder as she swung her leg over his, straddling him against the couch. Gripping the front of his shirt, Amaya tilted her head and kissed him harder, demandingly. Kakashi was more than happy to comply, rough hands sliding down her back as he kissed back just as hard.

Kakashi's head dropped back and he groaned loudly as Amaya ground her hips against him. She could already feel his erection pressing against her and it was doing funny things to her. Every touch of his hands was leaving trails of fire down her skin; she carefully pulled the henge crystal from Kakashi's forehead. She still thought he looked strange with his dyed hair but the look in his mismatched eyes nearly melted her.

Leaning back she dropped the crystal on the coffee table before sitting up again and gripping his hair at the back of his head. Amaya's eyes roamed greedily over his face again, taking in every feature and mark. The long scar bisecting his left eye stopped just below his cheek bone. He had another small scar at the edge of his jaw on the other side. His bottom lip was slightly fuller than the top. A light dusting of silvery stubble across his cheeks and jaw gave him a definite masculine edge that made Amaya's toes want to curl. She leaned in slowly and gently took his bottom lip between her teeth; her eyes still locked with his, she flicked her tongue across before sucking lightly on it. Her stomach flipped as the look in his eyes suddenly became sharper.

"Maya." He growled. His hands slid down her tiny waist, gripping her tightly as she ground down slowly again; his eyes closed against the pleasure. She slid her tongue in his mouth, lazily gliding across his. Kakashi's fingers were tangling in her hair, pulling her head back to gain access to her exposed throat. He left a moist trail or kisses, bites and licks down her throat, then flicking his tongue across her collar bone.

"You know I have to go and get ready for the mission now don't you?" He mumbled against her neck.

"Mmmhmm." He felt her answer vibrate through her throat, tickling his nose a little. "I know. I wish you didn't have to though." She tilted her head down to look at him as he nuzzled her neck. She still didn't make any move to get off his lap.

Kakashi tried to lift her by her waist so he could go and get a shower, chuckling as Amaya's thighs tightened around his to try and stop him. She gave him her most innocent smile, though it was ruined by the wicked glint in her eyes.

"Ne Kaka-kun? Have you changed your mind? Are you going to stay then?" She teased gently.

Kakashi gave a bark of laughter. Then, in a move so quick Amaya missed it, she was pinned on her back on the sofa with Kakashi hovering over her.

He ran his nose over the smooth skin of her neck up to a delicate ear."I meant what I said last night about teasing, Maya-chan," His breath ghosted across her ear making her shudder in delight, her eyes sliding shut again as he gently tugged her lobe with his teeth. Suddenly he stood, her body intensely aware of the suddenly cold where his warm body had been pressed against her.

Amaya opened her eyes and smirked wickedly at him. "Who said I was teasing?" She nearly laughed at the pout that appeared.

"That's not fair, you know I have to work tonight." He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead, breathing in her scent before straightening. "Plus Sakura has ordered you to relax and rest, so I will expect you to be in bed and sleeping when I get home, OK?"

Hai, Dr Kakashi." He stroked his finger tips down her cheek before turning and placing the crystal from the table back on his forehead. So when he turned back it wasn't Kakashi that stood there any more.

Amaya sighed as she looked into the dark eyes of his henge.

"Why don't you do some light reading in bed tonight instead of mission work? He suggested while offering his hand to help her up. She grabbed him and allowed him to lead her through to the bed. "Is there anything in particular you would like to read?"

"I wouldn't mind catching up on my jutsu reading actually."

"That's good because we don't have anything else apart from my books and jutsu scrolls here."

Kakashi quirked an eyebrow at the slow grin that crossed her before she caught herself and changed it into a small smile. She bent over the bedside cabinet pulling out a scroll containing information on a powerful suiton Jutsu.

When she stood again Kakashi gave her another chaste kiss on the forehead before grabbing a towel and heading for his shower.

When he came out to get dressed he found Amaya had changed into a black, oversized, buttoned up men's shirt. She was sitting on top of the bed covers, her bare legs stretched out as she reclined against the headboard, immersed in her scroll.

He towel dried his hair before getting dressed in a smart pair of black pants and a white shirt, watching her the entire time. Walking over to the bed, Kakashi ran a hand up Amaya's nearest leg, enjoying the way she shivered at his light touch. Her eyes flashed when she looked at him from her scroll. Kakashi leaned down and kissed her softly when they both heard someone knocking at the front door.

Amaya sighed as she pulled back from him. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she wrapped her arm round his waist and they walked through. She sat on the sofa while he got the door.

His head poked round the doorframe to the living room,

"Maya-chan, that's me going now. Remember to get some sleep tonight and I will see you in the morning."

Amaya gave him a small wave that said "hurry up and go" and she heard the door close quietly. This was going to be a long night. It had been about two months since she was last left alone, truly alone. After her memory retrieval, Sakura had been staying with her. Then Kakashi. Even though at the start they had both avoided each other, there was never the sense of true loneliness she felt now.

She jumped up from the sofa; first something to eat, then something to read. She reheated some of the miso soup from this evening's dinner. While that was heating she went into the bedroom, fully intending to grab the magazines Ino had left in her pack that she had bought earlier that day, until she spotted a familiar orange cover sitting on Kakashi's bedside cabinet.

A devilish grin spread across her face. Well, that would be more entertaining than Ino's glossy magazines, that was for sure. She carefully lifted the small, surprisingly innocent looking, book from where it was laying and wandered through to get her soup and to lay down on the sofa.

A few hours later Amaya was still reading Icha Icha Paradise, her mouth open in shock. She was bright red - not from the pictures, though they were very ... correct - but from the writing. As much as she hated to admit it, there was a plot of sorts. That in itself had surprised her, and most of the characters were quite believable too, if you didn't count their physical appearances.

But the scenarios, they were extremely descriptive, and Amaya was even more surprised to find she could picture them very clearly in her own head _without_ the need for the pictures every 3rd page. Some were straight out of any typical male fantasy, with two or more women at the male hero's beck and call, though some had shocked her as they were surprisingly sensitive.

Icha Icha was exactly as she had expected in some sense, yet in other ways, it was completely unexpected as well. She found herself wondering which aspect attracted Kakashi to the series? Was it really just the smuttiness and the pictures? Or the romanticism that was right up there as well? Or was it both?

She knew she couldn't ask him; she would rather die before letting him know she had picked up his written porn in the first place. A loud, drunken laugh ripped her attention away from the writhing women and hero on the pages before her, as a group of young party goers walked past her house. She glanced at the clock.

"Shit!"

It was just after 2am. Kakashi would be home in an hour and a half.

Amaya jumped off the sofa. When she got into the bedroom she careful placed his book back exactly how it had been before. She crawled between the cool sheets, stretching her arms above her head. Amaya hadn't realised how tired she really was, so absorbed in the little orange book she was. Amaya rolled over onto her stomach and snuggled her face down into the soft pillows, giving one deep breath before sleep dragging her under. Amaya didn't even stir when Kakashi snuck into the bedroom a short while later.

He moved her white lock of hair from her face; she slept on soundly. He sighed deeply; the guy didn't come back tonight. Kakashi prayed reverently that they hadn't missed their only chance. Slipping off his pants and shirt, he dropped them onto a chair before slipping under the sheets beside his partner. Shivering at the sudden cold he moved closer to her, slipping an arm round her waist. Amaya stirred. Turning, she snuggled up to his chest.

"Kakashi..." She mumbled in her sleep, as her face sought the warmth by his neck. He wrapped his arms tightly round her, before nuzzling her hair and drifting off to sleep as well.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Henge~ A jutsu that can change the appearance**

**A/N **Well thats the new chapter for this week up. Thank you to my proof readers and beta for helping with this, Againstnormal, Pazzesca, and Byran.

Thanks to you my wonderful readers! so far this story has had 1347 hits in total Thats staggering to me and its all thanks to YOU,. another fun/sweet chapter, don't worry its not ALL gonna be fluff. Thy WILL remember they have a damn mission to do after all ;)

I hope you all enjoy it

~Rys~ ^_^

Chapter 14 Preview

_She had noticed that Sakura was definitely paying more attention than usual to Genma, especially when the gaggle of drunken girls that normally hung around Kakashi went to order drinks at the bar. That was something else that made her want to scream; those girls - those nasty, dirty little bar room whores. If they hadn't been undercover she would have broken all their fingers for touching Kakashi. The first hand that trailed down his chest made her bite the inside of her cheek so hard, her mouth was flooded with blood. Amaya deliberately turned her back to the scene in front of her, until she realised belatedly that she could still see perfectly well in the mirror in front of her. She groaned inwardly._


	15. Chapter 14, Ao

**Chapter 14, Ao**

Kakashi woke to the smell of bacon and eggs. His eyes cracked open, and peered at the clock beside the bed.

11:47

It was nearly lunch time; He had missed half the day already. He rolled over to the other side, already knowing Amaya was up, judging by the mouth-watering smells coming through, but it would have been nice to snuggle up to her as soon as he woke. Kakashi swung his feet over the side of the bed and sat up; stretching his arms above his head, leaning from one side to the other. He sighed as his tendons all snapped and popped. Then he got up and wandered through to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Amaya felt his presence before she felt his strong arms slip around her waist.

"Ohayo Kashi-kun," She leaned back into his chest, smiling as he kissed the top of her head.

"Something smells good, Maya-chan." He leaned forward to peer in the frying pan before her.

"Hai. I've already had breakfast, I also went out this morning and bought some food and did some light training."

Kakashi looked down at her in surprise.

"And I thought I would make brunch and bring it to you."

She turned in his arms, hands resting on his chest she leaned up to give him a soft kiss. "Go back to bed; it's almost ready; I will join you in a couple of minutes."  
She pushed him back gently, guiding him to the door.

When she went through to the bedroom, Kakashi was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard with Icha Icha Paradise open in front of him. She carefully placed the tray down on his bedside cabinet.

"I made you bacon and scrambled eggs, with fresh orange juice. There is toast as well if you are still hungry."

Amaya smiled as she climbed onto the bed as well. Rolling over to her stomach, she leaned down and scooped up her jutsu scroll, opened it in front of her on the bed, and began to read.

After a minute or two she was acutely aware of Kakashi's heavy gaze on her, she smirked inwardly.

"Ne Kashi-kun, is something wrong?" She didn't even look up from her reading.

When she didn't get a reply Amaya flicked her eyes toward her partner. His eyes were unashamedly roving her body. Her inner grin got even wider. She was wearing a short vest top and tiny shorts today. She had wondered how long it would take to drag his attention from his written porn.

"Kashi?" She inquired again when he didn't reply, rolling over to her side. She could almost feel his gaze as it went over her toned stomach and the curve of her waist.

Kakashi's eyes snapped to hers, her breath caught in her throat at the hot look he gave her.

"I've not seen you wear this outfit before, Maya-chan." he rasped.

He leaned forward, breathing in her scent. He all but threw his small book on the night stand beside him. His fingers reached towards her. Fingers ghosting over her waist causing Amaya to shiver slightly. Everything was starting to overwhelm Kakashi's senses. He moved closer to her and pressing his hand to her lower back, he pulled her flush against him.

He leaned down and gently ran his nose over her temple, inhaling the smell of her hair. His fingers grasped her waist tightly when she sighed, her breath feather-soft against his jaw. He swallowed hard, his tongue feeling too big for his mouth.

"Maya-chan?..." When she looked up at him, her eyes burning with the same need as his, it took all his self control to not pin her down; instead he settled for a rough kiss. Raising his hand to the back of her head, twining her hair round his fingers, he pulled her slightly, smiling as they rolled over a little with her draped across his upper body.

Amaya pushed herself up and looked at him. Smirking deviously, Amaya swung her leg over his, using the momentum to pull her fully into his lap. Kakashi groaned as the motion caused her to grind against him. The groan turning into a low growl when he felt her teeth graze his neck.

Amaya smirked when she felt his fingers tighten in her hair and she flicked her tongue over the pulse point on his neck. His other hand came up to rest on the skin of her lower back, the fingertips drawing lazy concentric circles, goose bumps bursting at the light touch.

Kakashi pulled her head back carefully, looking Amaya in the eye before crushing his mouth against hers. He rolled them both over, the hand on her back slipping down to cup her ass. She arched up into him as he caught her bottom lip and sucked on it.

His mind went blank when he felt the hot slide of her tongue enter his mouth moaning, gliding against his. He was vaguely aware that his hand had trailed roughly round from the back of her head, holding her face before sliding down. His mouth nipping and licking a trail behind his fingers.

Amaya writhed underneath him. Her breathing hitched hard when his fingers reached her tightening nipples, pinching and twisting carefully. His mouth closed over the hard peak, soaking through her thin top. His large hand reached the heated skin of her stomach, pushing up under her top, fingertips flitting across the bottom swell of her breast. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pushing herself up towards him harder.

The hand under her ass squeezed, pulling her hips higher he ground back. Amaya's head snapped back in pleasure, moaning loudly as fire shot through her body at the friction, when suddenly her body stiffened, as her mind provided her with another layover of her rape.

Amaya choked back a harsh breath, biting her tongue hard to keep from crying out in fear. Kakashi felt her body go rigid, he pulled back from her.

"Amaya. What's wrong?"

Kakashi felt a little panicked, he had never had a woman react the way she just had. He leaned down a little to catch her eyes; there was pure fear in her gaze.

"Maya-chan?" He lifted his hands to grip her shoulders gently. Amaya's eyes suddenly focused sharply on her partners face. He could see the fear drain from her gaze as it became more lucid.

"Gomen Kashi-kun, I didn't mean to worry you." She tried to give him a smile. But it was extremely weak and tremulous. Kakashi sighed; he rolled over and scooted up the bed. Leaning against the headboard, he pulled Amaya so she was resting against his chest again.

"So Maya-chan, when are you going to tell me what is wrong?" His fingers found themselves in her hair. It felt very soothing to him, the feeling of the strands weaving though his fingertips. He almost felt her close up as she replied in a hard voice,

"There is nothing wrong Kashi-kun..."

"Don't give me that. This is twice you have reacted that way to me. Are you scared of me? You must know that I would never intentionally hurt you Maya?"

He hooked a finger under her chin, pulling her face up to look at him.

"Will you just tell me, please? I may be able to help you, you know?"

She turned her eyes down, breaking the contact with him before shaking her head slowly,

"It's nothing; I'm not scared of you, just stuff in my past catching up with me. I am OK now Kashi-kun. You should eat your food before it gets too cold"

"Fuck that! Amaya," Kakashi gave her a stern look, "just tell me what's wrong. I won't take no for an answer. You might think it's nothing, but it is affecting us, affecting you. If nothing else, talking about it may help you come to terms with it."

His eyes softened. Amaya heaved a sigh.

"It's not that simple. I only found out about this stuff a week before you became my partner. I've actually never spoken to anyone about it. In fact, only a handful of people know about it, the ones involved; Sakura, Tsunade, Ino and her uncle, and Shizune." She gave a slightly bitter laugh.

"And I didn't tell any of them about it, either. The Hokage knows because she is the one who ordered the memory retrieval, Ino and her uncle know because they are the ones who did it, Shizune knows because she is the Hokage's personal assistant. And Sakura knows because she was the one assigned to help me 'readjust'." Maya said this with a slight twist to he lips and an angry tone. Obviously not happy with her privacy being breached over and over.

Kakashi gave her a sharp look when she said 'readjust', normally that term was reserved for victims of traumatic experiences involving undercover work and sometimes when a mission goes badly wrong.

"Maya, what if I make you a deal? If you tell me what is bothering you then you can ask me a question about myself in return."

"And you promise to answer it truthfully?" Her eyes lit up, probably trying to work out what she would ask already."

"Hai." He gave her a solemn nod of his head, "As long as it's not classified mission information"

"How many questions am I allowed?"

"How many do you want to ask? How about one for each question I ask you?"

Amaya looked thoughtful. "What about if I ask you one question first, then you ask me and we can work that way?" She was clearly nervous, and was thinking that getting him to give up something first would make it easier on her. Kakashi gave it some consideration. Rubbing his chin he looked down again and gave her a grin.

"That sounds fair enough. OK go ahead, ask your question first."

Amaya leaned back and snuggled into Kakashi's arms before asking, "Where do you go in the mornings back in Konoha?"

Kakashi smirked into her hair. It seemed fair that he wanted her to reveal something important to who she was today, and it seemed she had picked the right question to find the same about him. Tightening his arms around her, Kakashi quietly explained about the memorial stone.

The flashing lights and pounding music was grating on her nerves now. The suspect, 'Yuki', hadn't shown up last night according to Kakashi when he got home, and so far she couldn't see him tonight.

Amaya had to bite her cheek to stop herself from growling when yet another tall blonde man turned round and it wasn't him. She wanted to punch the man across the room from her, it wasn't his fault that he wasn't a pervert druggist and kidnapper, but right now Amaya would have probably skipped for joy had it really been Yuki.

She had noticed that Sakura was definitely paying more attention than usual to Genma, especially when the gaggle of drunken girls that normally hung around Kakashi went to order drinks at the bar. That was something else that made her want to scream; those girls - those nasty, dirty little bar room whores. If they hadn't been undercover she would have broken all their fingers for touching Kakashi. The first hand that trailed down his chest made her bite the inside of her cheek so hard, her mouth was flooded with blood. Amaya deliberately turned her back to the scene in front of her, until she realised belatedly that she could still see perfectly well in the mirror in front of her. She groaned inwardly.

"This prick had better show up tonight, I'm in desperate need to beat on someone, and very soon." She all but yelled in Ino's ear. Ino's eyebrows stitched together until she spotted the sight over Amaya's shoulder.

"You know," the blonde started, a wicked smile lifting the corner of her mouth. "Kakashi had complained you weren't sticking to your cover as a couple, yeah?" Amaya's eyebrows shot up as she realised what Ino was getting at, before her mouth tuned to a wicked smirk that matched her blonde friend's.

"If you are a couple, what are you doing letting that nasty bitch touch your man? I think you forgot: you don't have to hide a relationship in this mission." She laughed.

"Go lay your claim, Maya." With that Ino grabbed Amaya's shoulders, turned her, and pushed her towards Kakashi. Amaya felt extremely thankful to Ino at that moment, she had forgotten she was expected to be a bit possessive. Head held high, she sauntered to where Kakashi was being harassed.

She shouldered the brunette - who was currently trying to toy with the collar of Kakashi's shirt - out of the way, earning herself a glare and a very angry "Hey!"

"Saido-kun." Amaya purred his code name while she placed her fingers on his chest. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. Kakashi's eyes widened slightly for an instant.

"Mai-chan." He murmured back, his breath caught ever so slightly when he felt her cool finger tips slip between the buttons of his chest to caress the skin of his stomach. She was leaning so close no one could see she was slowly slipping he slender hands inside his clothing.

He felt something warm flip in his stomach; since they had talked he had been too nervous to go too fast for Amaya. She had been through too much for him to do that to her, so they had just stuck to kisses and gentle touches. That wasn't to say he wouldn't have loved to pin her down and ravish her completely.

"Are you going to introduce me to your _friends_ Koi?" He could see the amusement in her eyes at he casual use of Koi. He also didn't miss the way she said friends. She was angry, but he was relieved she wasn't angry at him.

"Who are you talking about Mai-chan?" Kakashi gave her his best confused look. If these girls did not get the idea now then nothing was going to put them off. Amaya gestured towards the glowering girls. They were not happy that Amaya had come in and claimed him. He had told them over a week ago that he had a girlfriend, and even pointed to Amaya when they said she wasn't there and 'what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her.'

"Oh they aren't friends Mai-chan, they are patrons here, and surely you have seen them before, ne?"

He adored the wicked glint that appeared in her eyes. What made it even more satisfactory was the look on the drunken girls' faces. Amaya shook her head innocently before turning to look at them. "I can't say I've noticed them before" and with that she dismissed them as she turned back to Kakashi. Amaya leaned up; her breath tickled his neck and ear.

"Hopefully they will get the idea now, ne Kashi-kun? If that doesn't work maybe this will."

Kakashi was confused for a second until she tugged on his earlobe and slowly licked his neck, angling her face so the group of girls would most definitely get a good view of it. Kakashi's eyes rolled slightly at the hot sensation. He grabbed her arms.

"Now now Mai-chan. Kami, you are insatiable woman. Go play with Kin and Ama."

Amaya gave him a cute pout. He got the feeling that what had started as a way to help him do his job would change into something a bit more serious. He laughed.

"How about if I come and find you during my break?" he gave her his cheekiest grin, which she answered with one of her own. They both knew the girls had heard everything he said.

"I will hold you to that Koi."

Kakashi took her face in both hands and kissed her softly. "It's a promise Ao. Now let me get on with my job."

He swatted her ass as she turned to leave, earning himself a squeal from his pretty partner, a mock glare and a quick devious smile before she turned again and all but skipped to where Ino and Sakura were waiting. Ino grabbed her by the arm and started asking her loads of questions. Kakashi could guess what was being said, and felt surprisingly smug that the main topic was him.

He took a deep breath and wrenched his eyes away from his teammates to scan the crowds for the tall blonde that had drugged Amaya a few days before.

That night, and the three nights after, proved to be fruitless. Everyone was starting to feel the worry that they had let the target slip through their fingers. Everyone was slightly on edge, each blaming themselves for letting the guy get away.

The next night was different; Amaya had spotted a flash of blonde as she left the women's bathroom. Was it him? She caught a glance of his profile, her heart hammering in her chest. She was almost certain. She snuck over to Sai.

"The tall blonde who just went into the men's bathroom? Tag him."

She murmured to the pale artist as she walked past him, catching his slight nod out of the corner of her eye as he acknowledged he request. Amaya walked straight over to Kakashi. Pretending to flirt with him while telling him that the target was in the club.

"What should we do? How are we going to do this?"

"He came up to you when you were alone, right?" He trailed his fingers down the side of her neck, whispering in her ear. He felt her shiver before she nodded. "Well let him see you leaving for fresh air again. Take your glass over to the bar before you go outside, pretend to order a drink from Genma and tell him the target is there. We will watch the door. If he follows you then we will close the trap. You are not to engage him alone. Do I make myself clear on this Maya?"

She nodded before giving his neck a quick nip. Throwing him the sultriest look she could, she slowly stepped away. Speaking loudly, and with a slight sway to her step, she acted inebriated perfectly.

" 'm going to get some fresh air, Saido-kun." She slurred at him. She wandered over to the bar and gave Genma the code words, letting him know that the target had been spotted and she was to try and lure him. Genma nodded almost imperceptibly. She was feeling strangely nervous, the last time she met this guy he had been charming to the point of making her blush, and then he'd drugged he with the idea of kidnapping her, for whatever purpose. She walked through the side exit and leaned against the opposite wall and closed her eyes, and waited.

"We meet again Mai-chan." A warm voice said.

Amaya's eyes opened to take in the sight of the tall man leaning against the doorframe.

"Yuki, wasn't it?" Amaya smiled as wide as she could. "How nice to see you again"

"The pleasure is mine, Mai-chan." He quirked his head at her. "I didn't realise you and the doorman knew each other well." He tried to ask her casually.

"Oh Saido? He is my boyfriend; we have been dating for over a year. But things weren't going well until last weekend." His eyebrow lifted slightly at this. "I ended up getting sick just after you left Yuki-kun, and Saido was very concerned, we ended up making up" She even managed to bring up a gentle blush, while glancing shyly up at him.

He had taken a step or two towards her. Amaya had to fight the urge to tense up. She gave him a smile instead, while imagining all the different ways she could kill him. She could almost feel his blood slipping over her hands as she slit his throat in her mind. She fought every instinct in her to lunge at him and tear his heart out with her bare hands. This bastard drugged her, he was going to pay. She mentally slapped herself as he stalked even closer.

"That is a shame. But I suppose I should have expected it of a pretty girl like you." He gave her another smile which he probably though was disarming, it nearly caused her gag reflex to kick in and choke her.

She clenched her right thumb tightly, resisting the urge to swipe it across the chakra repressor embedded into the skin below her navel. He was only a step or two away from her now. Where was her team? She started to feel panic. She was alone right now with this potentially dangerous man.

She took a sharp breath; her nose was filled with the smell of him. It was masculine, but not in a way that was pleasing to her. It made her feel sick but she had to try and keep him relaxed and oblivious to her team mates. She jumped as his fingers came up to toy with a lock of her hair.

"You know, I wouldn't let such a pretty little girl like you out of my sight really. There are some really nasty people in this city you know." His smile twisted into something slightly more sinister. "And someone like you would fetch a pretty price."

Amaya's eyes widened, just as she was about to raise her knee and make sure he would never be able to father children, and possibly ruin sex for him for the rest of his life...

"Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend"

Amaya nearly cried out in relief. Knowing it was safe, she swiped her thumb over the seal; her chakra surged through her body. Feeling almost giddy with the power she had been denied for weeks, she grinned as she felt the rest of her team's charka signatures flaring angrily behind Yuki.

As he tuned to face Kakashi and the others, Yuki's hand tried to casually touch her face. Amaya dodged sideways; there was no fucking way he was getting her with that damn drug again. She jumped out of his reach.

"Don't fucking touch me." Amaya hissed at him, she backed up towards her team. Kakashi handed her, her leather gloves.

"Don't let him touch your skin and remember to not do too much damage; we still need him alive, Ao."

Amaya glanced up at the affectionate term. Her gloves creaked as she stretched them over her knuckles, and flexed.

"Don't worry _Saido_-kun." Yuki's eyes widened with fear, the way she used Kakashi's code name made it obvious to him that they weren't who they seemed.

Amaya grinned evilly as she stalked forward. "Koi," she called sweetly over her shoulder at Kakashi. "Can you make sure the door is closed. I don't want someone wandering out at an inopportune moment."

Her chakra lashed angrily, as she finally got the chance for a little payback.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Ao/Koi ~ Affectionate terms for love**

A/N Heh heh I love it when Amaya gets pissed, and she is gonna get a WHOLE lot angrier in the next few chapters!

OK I've decided to have my author notes at the bottom of my chapters, to try and clean them up a little ;)

Mega huge thanks to Againstnormal my wonderful beta, and to Pazzesca Femmina and Byan my two awesome proof readers! Who im glad haven't went blind for my complete lack of grammer or spelling.

A massive thank you to Momokobo for the sweet reveiw, (I'm really glad your enjoying the story)

WOW! i cant believe how many hits I got this week, I had 1,347 last week and this week I have 1,591.

Thats absolutely mind boggling! I know my readers aren't a talkative bunch, but I assume coz a lot of you come back that you guys like the story too ^_^

New feature :D

~Chapter 15 Preview~

_Genma kicked down the front door with a grin and a loud shout of "Honey... I'm home!"_

_Sakura and Amaya had to bite down on the laughter that threatened to come bubbling up at his antics, Ino had no such reserve and leaped through the door with as big a grin and laughing loudly._

_ They all jumped in. The 20 or so men in the room were no match for 6 seasoned shinobi. Within minutes the floor was slick with blood._

Until next time, have a fantasic weekend, and a relaxing week guys!

~Rys~


	16. Chapter 15, Escape

_**Warning**_, _there is a fair bit of gratuitous violence in this chapter. If blood offends then don't read_ ^_^ ~Rys~

**Chapter 15 Escape**

Yuki had put up something of a fight considering he was a civilian. What had caused Amaya the most problems was that she was determined to cause the man as much pain as possible without doing too much damage, but she also had to avoid his hands, because she did not want that drug in her system again.

Several times Amaya had to lean backwards to avoid Yuki's fingers. The third time it happened she caught his wrist and snapped it. As he started screaming in pain Amaya forced him against the wall, using her body weight to hold him still while she clamped a hand over his mouth.

She inhaled deeply and gave him a slightly insane looking grin that showed most of her teeth. Yuki shuddered in fear as his eyes rolled back. Amaya could smell the terror rolling off his body in thick waves. She could also smell a slightly bitter edge to the man. "_Must be those drugs_."

Amaya pulled back a bit and punched him hard in the gut. She caught him as he curled over, retching and coughing. Grabbing him by the throat, she slammed him against the wall again.

"_Mai_-chan." Amaya's head whipped round. She saw Sakura standing there with a look of revulsion on her face. Amaya had forgotten how compassionate the medic was, and she had not seen this more aggressive, slightly bloodthirsty, side of her friend before.

Sakura walked towards her and her victim. Placing cool, chakra green, fingers on the back of Yuki's head she put him into a forced, chakra-induced, coma. "We need to make sure we can still get info from this guy, remember?"

Amaya nodded angrily, she was restraining herself from kicking the guy hard enough to break his ribs and puncture his lungs. She looked over at Kakashi, expecting to see a similar look on his face as well, but Amaya was shocked: instead, Kakashi's face mirrored her own. There was disgust, but not at what she had been doing, but directed towards the prone blonde. There was anger too, and the slight narrowing of his eyes told her that he wanted to harm the guy as much as she did.

As Amaya walked past Kakashi to head into the club and inform the owner that they had their suspect, she laid a hand on Kakashi's shoulder.

"Ne Kashi-kun, can you pick that piece of shit up and take him to our house? We can interrogate him there."

Kakashi nodded slightly to indicate he heard her. She trailed her hand down his arm as she walked off to inform the club manager of the outcome and to bring this mission to a close.

They were all in the small bedroom in Kakashi and Amaya's small house.

Genma had set up some sound proofing jutsu on the walls, door, and windows. Kakashi set up a perimeter jutsu around the entire house to alert them in case they were disturbed. Sakura and Amaya had tied the blonde man to a chair in the middle of the room; Ino and Sai were sitting silently, waiting for Sakura to bring the man round.

They had decided previously that Sai would be the one to start the initial interrogation, as he had experience in this sort of thing from his Black Op ANBU training. If that failed to elicit the information they wanted then Ino would go in and rip what they needed from him instead. They hoped she wouldn't have to though, because Ino would be exposed to everything in this animals mind.

He groaned as his eyes opened. Sakura had healed his wrist, but not completely, and she hadn't killed any of the other pain that her older friend had inflicted. His eyes were beginning to focus on his surroundings, eyes that widened in terror as his memories came back to him.

"What's your name?

Sai's monotone voice broke though the fear.

"Wh-what?" His voice sounded thick as he tried to talk around the broken jaw and teeth Amaya had given him. The said kunoichi grinned evilly in the shadows, as did her partner. The bastard had drugged them both and Amaya had no doubts whatsoever about what he had planned to attempt in the alleyway tonight.

"Did you not understand the question? I will reiterate then. What did your parents name you?"

The captive looked up into Sai's impassive face before something clicked into placed. They all knew then that he had received at least some basic training against questioning. This might get a bit messy, Amaya thought.

"I'm pretty sure I told that dark haired slut my name, why not ask her? Or even the brunette or blonde whores she had with her, because she introduced them to me last week."

If he thought he would get a rise out of Sai he was sorely mistaken. Sai causally lifted his hand and smashed him across the face with an almost lazy backhand. His blood splattered the opposite wall.

"I know what you told them, I asked _you_ the question though, and I expect you to answer ... unless you _like_ pain that is?"

Neither Sai's face nor posture was threatening, but even Amaya felt cold at the sheer indifference. The fact that everyone, their captive included, knew that Sai wouldn't care, wouldn't even flinch from torture, ran a shiver up many a spine.

The pale shinobi grasped his victim's face firmly by the jaw and dragged him round to face him, His slender artist's fingers belaying the actual strength in them. The captive winced in pain as the broken pieces of his jaw shifted against each other.

"What. Is. Your. Name?"

"Fuck you."

Sai punched him full in the face, his nose snapped loudly as blood gouted from the mangled nostrils and his burst mouth. He was groaning freely in pain now. Tears carving tracks though the viscous liquid coating his face.

"What is your name?"

He mumbled something; Sai leaned down to hear him. "What did you say?"

"Yuki. My name is Yuki." He coughed, spraying blood over Sai's arm.

He pulled away, his lips twisting slightly in disgust before his face shifted again into the cold mask he normally wore. He tugged out a handkerchief and wiped the splatter from his skin. Sai glanced at Amaya who confirmed that was what he had told her.

"Where are the girls you took? Are they still alive?"

Yuki gave a short laugh before grimacing in pain and coughing up some more blood.

"you're fuckin' kddin' me. I am not riskin' my life to tell you that."

"Your life is forfeit if you don't tell us. All you can hope for now is either long incarceration from the government of Hani no Kuni, or a swift death from one of us."

Everyone knew that a swift death would be preferable to being jailed by the Spring Country; they were notorious for the appalling state of their prisons.

Yuki sneered.

Things went downhill from there, with Yuki refusing to answer the questions with anything other than insults.

Eventually Genma stepped forward, grabbing Sai's wrist before he smashed his fist into the prone man again. The pale artist simply looked at his team mate.

"I think you can stop now." Genma turned towards Sakura, "Go and heal him."

Sakura gave him a grateful smile, she hated the violent aspect of her job, but she knew it was a necessary evil. In the end Ino had to tear apart his mind looking for what they needed. She discovered that he was a middle man, that he answered to another man with strange eyes and long red hair.

She found out his name really was Yuki as well - he had been truthful about that at least - and that the girls were all being kept in a brothel just outside of the city, along with other girls that had been picked up from somewhere else.

Genma took Sakura by the shoulder and led her out of the room once they had what they needed, leaving Kakashi and Amaya to finish off this end of the job.

Amaya and Kakashi exited the small bedroom; she went straight to the bathroom to clean herself, but not before Sakura caught sight of Amaya's grim face and bloody hands. Kakashi was methodically cleaning a kunai with a bloody rag. He walked straight past into the kitchen to fetch his cleaning equipment before sitting crossed legged on the floor in front of the coffee table, his utensils all laid out neatly before him.

"The body?" Sai inquired. Kakashi spared him a quick glance.

"I used a Katon jutsu, the same one hunter nins use for missing nins, there is no trace of him left. He is lucky he got a shinobi's death today, which is more than scum like him deserved."

Everyone looked very serious as Amaya came out of the bathroom to join her team.

"I should tell you guys how to reach the brothel." Ino said quietly.

"Ino? Can you daw out a map or something? Genma and I can memorize it; Amaya can get on with grabbing and packing our stuff up. Sakura? Can you head back and pack your stuff as quick as you can too? Everyone can meet up at Ino and Sai's, OK?"

Kakashi spoke with quiet authority. Everyone nodded.

Amaya left for the bedroom. They really didn't need to take much; they would leave all the extra stuff they had bought for the mission. She carefully packed their ninja attire that they had kept hidden in a secret drawer; Amaya got changed quickly into her usual outfit of mesh with dark sanguine top and skirt over the top. She started to feel more like herself as she slipped her black shorts on.

When she finished by strapping her kunai holster to he thigh she felt stronger than she had in days. Amaya hadn't realised how vulnerable and weak she had felt after being drugged. Now she was a kunoichi, able to kick nearly anyone's ass. Kami, it felt good to have a weapon to hand.

Kakashi walked in; she threw him his dark blue, long sleeved, top and his baggy pants. While he was getting changed, she sat down on the bed and began to wrap her bandages; she started at the top across her nose. Kakashi's large hand stopped her after the first wrap. Amaya looked up at him with questioning eyes.

"Ne Kashi-kun?" She tilted her head slightly. "The undercover part is finished; I don't have to stay exposed any more."

"Iie Maya-chan. It's not that. I got you this." Kakashi rummaged through the drawer in his bedside cabinet and pulled out a scrap of cloth. He sat down behind her and tugged the bandage off her face before replacing it with the material in his hands. It was fashioned as a tube so he had to pull it over her head first. But it was extremely stretchy; it also meant it fit the contours of her face like a second skin.

Amaya just sat in surprise, when had he gotten this for her? She stood and looked in the mirror, touching it lightly with her fingertips; her calluses snagged the delicate fabric slightly. It was almost the exact same shade of dark blood-red as her top and skirt. It was strange. Her bandages made her look slightly dangerous. But this tiny piece of cloth made her look like a proper shinobi.

Amaya turned away from her reflection to face Kakashi. He was fully dressed now, sans his jounin vest and Hitae-ate; they had agreed to try and hide Konoha's involvement. She leaned up giving him a soft kiss on his masked lips.

"Arigatou." She nearly whispered. She couldn't see Kakashi's mouth but she knew he was smiling under his mask as well.

They finished by packing the jutsu scrolls and reading material they had taken with them and grabbing some food from the kitchen for the journey home. Amaya looked wistfully behind her before they locked the door for the last time, but she still felt overwhelming relief that she would soon be home again, in her own bed, under her own roof.

Kakashi and Amaya used chakra to jump to the rooftops and made their way quickly to Ino and Sai's house a couple of minutes away.

When they arrived everyone else was there already.

"Remember, we don't know if there are any guards, it's likely that there are though, so keep your eyes and ears open."

"Nor do we know if any are trained with chakra or if they are just hired thugs. So stay within sight of your mission partner in case one of you gets into trouble. Once you have made your way in your first priority is the girls. They are hostages. They may be drugged or worse. You have permission to kill any male on sight."

"Our second priority is to capture the male that Yuki was answering to; Ino's description was 'strange eyes and long red hair'. From what we do know we have to assume he _is_ shinobi. Engage him only if necessary, otherwise leave a tracking jutsu on him and leave it to me and Amaya to track him after."

"Does everyone understand what they are doing?" His team mates all looked at him and nodded. "Let's move out then"

It was still dark outside. As silent as shadows they all made for the outskirts of town.

After a short while they arrived at a rundown looking farmhouse, about 5 minutes travel from the edges of civilization. It was three stories high. The top two floors had their windows boarded up. The team had stopped in the tree line and spread out and observe from a safe distance.

Kakashi noticed right away that downstairs looked quite busy. The windows weren't boarded up and there was light shining from each one. He could hear music as well, and lots of drunken laughter. In fact if he didn't know better it would have looked, for all purposes, like any other brothel. Maybe a little more rundown but that was it. He opened his sharingan eye and scanned the tree line opposite where he was stood. Two... no, three guards to the north and east and two to the west.

He turned to look at his partner. Amaya's eyes had turned purple. He had told her before that her eyes changed colour when she used her kekkei genkai, but it was still strange seeing it, as she rarely used her bloodline limit.

Amaya turned her hypnotic eyes to him. He nodded in the direction of the guards he spotted. She turned and scanned the area he indicated.

"Their chakra is weak. They are nothing more than common thugs." Kakashi grunted to let her know he heard her and began to rise to take out his targets. Amaya grabbed his arm.

"What is it Maya-chan?"

"There is a strong chakra; it is in the house though. He is most definitely a ninja, and a powerful one as well. I would recommend taking out the guards and then we take the house as a group. The enemy may be strong but he isn't strong enough to take on two of us together, let alone 6. But we will still need to use stealth to reach this guy."

Kakashi looked down at her, deliberating before he signalled to the other two pairs, indicating a point further in the forest behind them.

Once they all met there he told them what Amaya had told him.

Amaya and he would take out the two eastern guards. Ino and Sai would take the two western ones, and Genma had the northern one. Sakura would stay nearby, on standby in case anyone got injured; her skills weren't suited to skulking about in the shadows, whereas Genma's senbons were perfect for silent killing.

They all silently spread out and crept towards their targets. Sai, Ino, Genma and Sakura went one way, Amaya and Kakashi went the other.

As Amaya neared her target her chakra enhanced senses picked up his scent and noises. Kakashi peeled away towards his guard as Amaya dropped to her stomach to creep toward her victim.

She heard his loud breathing. This man had no idea how much noise he actually made. She could smell him quite clearly now too. There was a distinct sour note, like he had vomited recently. Amaya controlled her breathing and he came into view.

He was an ugly brute. His nose had been broken so many times it was flattened against his face. With small, piggy eyes and thick lips he had a face only a mother could love, and that was only if she was blind. He turned his back to her and she crept closer. She froze when she smelt something acrid on the frigid air. Then the distinct noise of the guard relieving himself filled the small clearing he was in.

Amaya pulled a face of disgust; at least he had made it easier to kill him. She crept out from beneath the bush she was hiding under. Using the sound of his urine hitting the forest floor to hide the noise she might make, she crept up quickly on soft feet, kunai clasped loosely in one hand.

With her empty hand she grasped him by the face, covering his mouth tightly and with the other she pressed her kunai into the soft flesh of his throat. The bigger man began to struggle until he felt the sharp prick of the kunai. Thinking she was only taking him hostage he stopped moving, big mistake. She pressed harder into his jugular; hot blood began to pump out. She pressed a bit harder, feeling the slight crunch of his wind pipe before she jerked her blade hard and tore it out the other side of his throat.

She let go and watched him impassively as he dropped to the floor. Clutching his throat trying to stem the bleeding. His mouth opened and closed almost soundlessly, as she had severed his vocal chords. All he could do is make a gurgling sound as he desperately tried to breath through his shredded throat.

His hands began to slip away as he lost consciousness due to extreme blood loss, his eyes losing their focus before they rolled to the back of his head, as he collapsed fully on the ground. One last liquid sounding breath escaped his chest before he stopped moving.

When Kakashi came into view, she was standing there, calmly cleaning her kunai on the corpse's shirt. With one foot on his chest, she stepped on and over him and walked past Kakashi.

"I take it you're done? Are we almost ready to do this?"

Kakashi nodded grimly to her. He was starting to get a little worried. Amaya wasn't normally so bloodthirsty. But he saw how she had killed this man: she did is slowly, and with no emotion at all. No disgust or remorse. He felt a little happier that she hadn't shown any enjoyment either, as that would be a big problem, but since Yuki had cornered her and all but threatened to rape her, Amaya had been in a cold controlled fury.

She had grabbed Yuki by his hair, pulled his head back just enough to reach his throat. She dragged her kunai across his windpipe, vey slowly, and she had watched every emotion and pain that flickered in the dead mans eyes. Kakashi knew they were normally trained to stab people directly through the heart, as it was a very swift and relatively painless death. Instead Amaya killed them both in a way that would ensure they had at least 20 seconds of coherent thought: she wanted them to suffer, a little at least, though not for her pleasure, but more likely because she thought they deserved it.

Kakashi caught up with her. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. With both hands on her cheeks he tried to search her vivid purple eyes.

"Amaya are you OK?"

Her face softened slightly, she realised he was concerned about how cold she was being.

"I will be Kashi-kun." Amaya leaned up and gave him a slow kiss though her mask and his. They turned and walked towards the farmhouse and their team mates.

They all decided they may as well walk in the front door. It looked like the largest concentration of enemies was in the front room, with some chakras spread throughout the rest of the building, possibly with the girls they were looking for. The strong one Amaya saw was on the top floor. She said that he was alone; his chakra wasn't fluctuating like it would if he was having sex. So that ruled out him being with one of the girls, which was a relief.

Genma kicked down the front door with a grin and a loud shout of "Honey... I'm home!"

Sakura and Amaya had to bite down on the laughter that threatened to come bubbling up at his antics, Ino had no such reserve, and leapt through the door with as big a grin and laughing loudly.

They all jumped in. The 20 or so men in the room were no match for 6 seasoned shinobi and within minutes the floor was slick with blood. Sakura set about gathering the women she found cowering in the room. Speaking quietly to them assuring them that they were safe. She got them all to sit down on or near one of the dilapidated couches.

"I want you girls to all stay here. We are going to go upstairs and deal with the men up there and rescue the other girls too. We are here to help, OK?"

They nodded dumbly at the medic. As Sakura turned to join her team one of the younger girls cleared her throat. Sakura tuned her jade eyes towards the poor child.

"Um... You should be careful..." the girl quaked under Sakura's gaze; she couldn't have been older then 12 years old. She must be one of the girls that are brought in separately Sakura thought. She kneeled down to the girl's slight form and placed a gentle hand on the quivering shoulders, almost grimacing at how thin she felt through her clothes.

"I am a kunoichi. My colleagues and I are all highly trained and we will protect you. There is nothing to fear."

"Ano. That's not what I mean." The girl sounded slightly bolder. "It's him... Yoru-sama... He is vey dangerous."

"Yoru...sama? Is he the ninja we sensed?"

"Hai," She whispered. The slim girl suddenly looked up, her eyes huge, a deep brown that was almost red in colour. "We have seen him do things; he can control your feelings and stuff. I saw him make grown men cry because he looked at him with his weird eyes, and the man ended up clawing his own eyes out of his head."

The girl clutched at Sakura desperately.

"Don't worry little one. We are the best shinobi from our village; he may be able to fight evenly with one of us, but not all 6."

This placated the girl a little and she released Sakura from her death gip and stepped back to sit on the couch with the older girls.

Sakura went and joined her team mates at the base of the stairs. She nodded to them "OK, let's get this over and done with"

As one, they ascended the stairway. Amaya felt sick to her stomach, as she knew all the guys up here were being 'entertained'.

At the top of the stairs there were several doors: they each picked one and stepped in to, as silently as possible, kill the male within and rescue the female. Eventually they had finished all the rooms and all the girls had been sent downstairs to join the others.

Amaya strode purposefully towards the last set of stairs. The cold anger radiated off her in sickening waves. This guy was going to suffer. It would take more than Sakura to pull her off him. Amaya didn't care right now; she wanted this guy to hurt. She reached the top and swung open the door.

Yoru stood, and turned to face the invaders of his private sanctum. An evil grin spread across his thin face as he realised just who stood before him.

Amaya had taken 4 or 5 steps into the overly warm room when the ninja tuned fully to face her. She felt all the air leave her lungs in one whoosh. Her stomach clenched in terror; it felt like she had been punched, hard. She tried to take a step back but bumped into someone. Kakashi presumably.

Kakashi was about to ask he what was wrong with her when the man in front of them spoke.

"Well well kunoichi. It seems you are not dead after all. And you enjoyed yourself so much; did you come back for more?"

Kakashi heard Amaya made a strangled noise low in her throat, and as close as he was he could feel her trembling.

When Amaya heard his voice something snapped: the memories of her rape and humiliation flooded over her, but then she felt Kakashi's warmth behind her. She could smell his deep masculine scent that she was quickly learning to love. She felt his distinct chakra snap with anger at the bastard's voice.

It all gave her strength, she wasn't alone and she wasn't weak, she'd endured everything this bastard threw at her and she still survived against all the odds. She had friends, comrades, a village, a home and someone she felt she could share her life with and trust.

Amaya stood up straighter and stared her tormentor in his strange, liquid eyes.

She was so angry now she was trembling, she tried to speak but her throat closed off, making a strangled noise come out instead. Amaya took a steadying breath, closed her eyes and reopened them, feeling the cold anger again but with a hint of something closer to pure bloodlust tingeing it.

"Burn. In. Hell. You fuck." Amaya managed to grind out. "I'm going to rip your fucking throat out with my bare teeth you sicko."

Amaya went to run at him but Kakashi managed to catch her round the waist. She twisted to glare at him, but he wasn't even looking at her. He was staring at the shinobi before them.

"We take him together Maya-chan. If he is who I think he is then I understand your rage," he turned his eyes towards her, "but the mission takes priority. We need to capture him."

He felt Amaya deflate a little before he released her waist. The rest of the team had entered the room and were spread out, glaring death at the shinobi in the middle. Sai and Genma didn't know why Amaya was so upset, but they knew it was the man in the middle that caused it. Ino and Sakura made educated guesses that this was the guy who had caused Amaya's mind to try and repress her entire past.

"Well, as touching as this little reunion is, I have an urgent appointment elsewhere." He ginned at Amaya, causing her spine to shudder with revulsion. "It's a shame we couldn't reminisce some more, as I remember, you were quite the screamer."

Amaya gave a cry of pure rage and lunged for him as he flipped a couple of hand seals and preformed a body flicker and disappeared.

"_**NO**_!" Amaya punched the floor where he had been standing only seconds before. "No! He can't get away. _NO_!" she screamed, as she punched the floorboards again. The wood beneath her knuckles cracked loudly as her hand burst, blood splattered the room and her face as she punched the ground again.

"Amaya stop." Sakura's voice was quiet, but it cut through the deafening silence in the room. She dropped to her knees next to her dark haired friend. Sakura carefully took Amaya's bloodied hand and began to heal the split knuckles and broken bones.

"Was that... _him_?" Sakura's question was quiet, Amaya growled as she looked up to the medics caring green eyes, her purple ones so dark with anger they looked like ink.

"Hai." She snarled, "I can't believe the bastard got away."

Amaya stood up. Sakura had only half healed her, but it was enough to not hurt any more and the bleeding had stopped.

"Save your chakra. Those girls downstairs need it more then me."

She turned on her heel and walked downstairs, ignoring the look Kakashi gave her and side stepping Ino as she tried to reach out to stop her.

She was halfway down when she called up.

"Kakashi what's the average range for a body flicker?"

"Um. About 100 meters Maya-chan."

He heard her mutter "fuck" as she ran down the rest of the stairs. Kakashi realised that it meant Yoru may still be in the area and he ran after her, summoning his pack of dogs on the run.

"Yo! Kakashi, where have you called me to this time?" the diminutive pug gave a toothy grin as he peered round at his surroundings.

"Pakkun, run back upstairs and take the scent from that room, I need to you try and track him."

"Hai." Pakkun turned and raced up.

Kakashi caught up with Amaya outside. She had already opened her kekkei genkai to full. The Inuzuka blood line was a bit more apparent now: Her eyes looked more animalistic, though still a striking shade of purple; her pupils were elongated; her canines had lengthened a little as well. Amaya whipped round as he came running out.

"Why can I smell dog?"

Kakashi stopped. She could smell that from that far away? He was impressed; she was as good a tracker as Tsunade made out.

"I summoned my pack to help us search." Amaya gave him a confused look. Kakashi gave a little laugh. "Don't worry I will introduce you soon, now let's focus on finding the bastard."

Amaya gave him a long look before she turned round and gave the air a deep sniff. She dropped to all fours and sniffed the air again, her eyes closed in concentration, as she heard Kakashi's pack come thundering out of the house.

"He appeared about 73 meters east north-east." Amaya informed him. Kakashi nodded before turning to the dogs.

"You heard her; I want you all to head in that direction, split up and follow anything that smells like that room, OK?"

The dogs all ran off, baying loudly.

Amaya stood up and took off herself, with Kakashi following closely behind her, just as the rest of the team got outside. All they saw was two blurs, dark red and blue, flying past and heading north.

Genma grabbed Sakura's shoulder as she went to follow.

"They can deal with it; right now there are 30-odd girls in here that need your attention more."

Sakura gave him a look before she reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hai, arigatou Genma-kun."

Genma rubbed his check with something akin to shock, a light blush tinting his face, and he led her back into the farmhouse and her new patients.

"I'm sorry Kakashi, but that scent stops about 5 meters from here. It smells strongly of chakra so I assume he used a strong teleportation jutsu."

Pakkun looked apologetically at Kakashi while the rest of the pack was sniffing in ever growing circles around the spot where Yoru's scent disappeared.

"Arigatou Pakkun." Kakashi looked at Amaya who was growling angrily.

She looked half feral now, having fully opened her bloodline limit, but the effect was strange; she reminded him more of a cat than ever before. Her purple eyes were darkened and glittering with barely suppressed rage, her lips pulled back into a snarl. She was currently up a tree sniffing the air, trying to catch a scent on the wind.

"Are you going to tell your mate to come down before she falls?"

"Kakashi turned his surprised eye to the small pug.

"I can smell you all over her, and vice versa Kakashi. You know you can't hide that sort of thing from me. Though it is about time you found a mate."

"Iie, it's not that. I'm surprised you would think she might fall, and between you and me, I would never let her hear you say something like that." Kakashi raised an amused silver eyebrow.

Pakkun gave huff of breath that was almost a cross between a laugh and a bark.

"Why is she so upset anyway?" Pakkun said eyeing the incensed kunoichi who was stalking the upper branches of the tree now. "I know the target got away, but I don't think I've seen anyone that mad before about losing an enemy."

Kakashi's face hardened.

"The target is a molester, a thug, an abuser, a kidnapper, a drugger and a rapist. We have females ranging from age 12 to early 30's in the farmhouse to the south that he has drugged, kidnapped, raped, abused and forced into prostitution."

Kakashi could swear Pakkun's frown deepened as he told him what their enemy was.

Amaya jumped out of the tree, landing on one foot, a knee, and both outstretched hands.

"I can't smell the bastard on the wind from any direction." She all but hissed out.

She stood slowly, unfurling from her couched position, and stalked over to where Kakashi was squatting next to his dog.

She stopped next to them, her eyes still scanning the dark forest. Kakashi took her hand and tugged gently. She looked down as if only just realising he was still there. Amaya's face softened as Kakashi stood and wrapped his arms round her.

Amaya let her head flop forward against his chest, sighing as warmth and a safe feeling washed over her. She jumped when the pack decided now would be a good time to get acquainted with her by pushing their noses into sensitive places.

Amaya almost squealed as she tried to turn in Kakashi's arms. It took him a few seconds to realise what she wanted and then he noticed _why_.

"Get off guys." Kakashi said laughingly, as he pushed his dogs' heads away.

"You can meet her later when things have calmed down." He looked down at his partner. "You ready to go back yet? We need to let them know we are OK and the status of our chase."

Amaya nodded quietly before stepping back from him then walking off towards the farmhouse.

Kakashi gave the pack orders to guard the farmhouse; to surround and keep moving, in case there were more thugs hanging around. He caught up quickly with Amaya. Reaching out to snag her arm he pulled her to a stop.

When she looked askance at him he simply smiled and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, tuning her and walking a bit slower than she had been travelling before.

"There's no need to rush Maya-chan, the team have everything under control there. We need to look at this calmly though, and we also need to communicate with Hokage-sama and see how she wants us to proceed."

Amaya's inky orbs found his lone black one. He could still feel her breathing quicker than normal. Her heart was beating fast as well. Her entire being was tensed, ready for flight or fight.

He saw the tension slowly begin to disappear from her, shoulders sagging first before she gave him a small smile as she saw the raw concern for her in his face.

Amaya stopped walking. Reaching a slender hand up to Kakashi's mask, she slipped a finger over it. She leaned up as far as she could, using her other hand to pull down her own mask.

Amaya's breath caught in the back of her throat as their lips met. She immediately moulded her body against his, wrapping cool fingers round the back of his neck and sighing into his mouth as his arms slipped round her waist in response, pulling her tight to his chest. Kakashi took advantage of her sigh by sliding his tongue past her lips. Gripping her chin he tilted her head to deepen the kiss further.

He grunted as his back met a tree trunk with some force. Kakashi could feel his resolve slipping again. His senses were reeling, surrounded by Amaya, her touch, her scent, her taste, the _way_ she felt under his large hands.

Pakkun cleared his throat loudly enough to get their attention. Amaya gave the small dog a curious look.

"As much as I don't care if you two mate out here, I know your human sensibilities wouldn't like being seen. Plus there is the matter of the rest of your team."

Amaya's jaw dropped. She knew about nin dogs of course, but it was the implication of what he was saying.

"Eh? We weren't _mating_, I mean we ... well we haven't... um..." she caught herself before she stuttered out more then she wanted to. She growled again before peeling herself away from Kakashi. He protested as the sudden loss of warmth and tried to pull her back, pleased when he got a rueful chuckle from Amaya and a gentle slap to his arm.

"Ne Kakashi? Can't you wait? Your... Um... Dog? Is right, we should really head back now and make sure the area is secure."

Kakashi pushed himself off the tree and wrapped his arm around her shoulders again.

"Hai Maya-chan. Let's go."

He buried his nose in her hair before leaning further down to nip her neck, delighting in the small shiver he caused. He was happy to see her eyes finally start to return to normal: her deep verdant green still had thick streaks of inky purple, but that was all that was left to remind him that she had been all but snarling like a panther up a tree 5 minutes ago.

Kakashi smiled as he noticed Amaya absentmindedly scratching Bull behind one of his ears as he sidled up beside her. His pack was insanely curious about her, especially after the open act of affection a couple of minutes ago. He knew she was likely to get mauled by them all, once they reached somewhere they all deemed it safe.

He tightened his hold around her shoulders, pulling her closer again as they began to pick up the pace to return to their team.

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**A/N **Ohhhhh as you can see she FINALLY came face to face with her tormentor, how will this affect Amaya in the future though?

Massive thanks to my Proof readers and beta, Bryan Pazzesca and AgainstNormal,

And to you guys... my readers. I've received 1,685 hits to this story so far, I may hit 2,000 very soon *squeeee*

Well who knows I MAY get another chapter to post this week. The next chapter contains my FIRST lemon! so Im pretty damn nervous now

have a great week guys!

~Rys~

~Chapter 16 Preview~

_As Amaya's vision faded from white and the tingles in her fingers and toes subsided a little, she felt Kakashi lay her gently back against the ground again. She ran her hands up and down his back, his muscles twitched and shivered under her light touch. He was leaning on his elbows, forehead against the ground, hot moist pants over her neck and shoulder. Amaya tried to control her breathing too._

_She turned her head to nuzzle into his damp neck. Amaya wanted nothing more then to lose herself in this man here with her now. She tightened her legs around him again her fingers gripping his shoulders pulling him flush against her. She stretched her back, feeling languid and sated._


	17. Chapter 16, Moonlight

_**Warning~** This chapter contains a lemon (my first so don't be too mean 'k?)_

**Chapter 16 Moonlight**

By the time Kakashi and Amaya reached the farmhouse, Ino was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the front room's floor, her eyes squeezed shut in concentration. Sakura hushed the pair as they entered, indicating that Ino needed quiet to focus on her long range jutsu.

Opening her azure orbs, Ino sighed loudly. "Tsunade was not happy about being woken up. She wants to know what happened to the head guy."

Everyone turned immediately and faced Kakashi and Amaya. She muttered something crude under her breath; Kakashi raised an eyebrow, he was close enough to make out what she had said and answered for them both instead.

"The target managed to get away, unfortunately. We decided it was best to return here and see what Tsunade wants us to do. Do we bring the men that are still alive in for justice and see the women safely home? Or do we pursue him?"

Ino looked blankly at the tall shinobi, "...so... He got away then?..."

Kakashi nodded sullenly. Amaya kicked the door frame before stomping out of the house again, kicking at the dirt and muttering angrily.

"That's all I needed to know."

Ino's eyes slid shut again as she concentrated her charka and let her mind reach out to her father's. She was using her family jutsu: she could communicate directly with any member of her clan, no matter the distance, but because she wasn't very experienced, and her chakra was low to start with, it was a struggle.

Kakashi could see small beads of sweat begin to form on her brow.

"Tsunade says you are not to pursue the target any further, the priority of this mission is to see the women safe. The Hokage said that now we have rescued them that's our mission over, we are in a foreign country so any further persuit could be taken the wrong way. We are to return to the village tomorrow at the latest."

Kakashi hnned to let the team know he had heard and understood, before turning on his heel and exiting after Amaya.

She wasn't anywhere in sight when he got outside. Whistling, he summoned Pakkun.

"Can you go after Amaya; she isn't to chase after our target. Though I don't think she would be stupid enough to follow him without backup. Can you just go and make sure she is OK."

Pakkun looked up at Kakashi with a world weary face, and tried to give him the doggy equivalent of a smile.

"Why can you not check on your mate Kakashi?"

"Well, I have the feeling she would prefer to be left alone right now, and second of all, she isn't my mate. We haven't even..."

"I know I know. You haven't even had the balls to claim her yet. I gathered that from the nonsense she was spluttering about in the forest."

Kakashi gave the pug a withering one-eyed death glare.

"I can't understand why you human are so strange about mating? Anything with a nose can smell the pheromones you two are putting out. And it spikes when you so much as look at each other."

He scowled at Pakkun again. The small dog turned to leave,

"You really should take her before someone else does. I'm pretty sure she won't mind too much. Actually, the way she acted in the forest, I would say _she_ has pretty much picked _you_ as her mate."

As Pakkun took off running Kakashi could hear the short huffing noise that indicated the pug was laughing at him.

Kakashi couldn't deny the small painful beat his heart made at Pakkun's pointed statement. If only things were as simple as it was in the canine world; Amaya would probably be well on her way to carrying pups by now though. He snorted with laughter as the image of a litter of puppies came unbidden into his mind, all sporting his unruly hair and Amaya's green eyes.

"_Well that was a disturbing pictur__e_" he thought with a chuckle, as he slowly followed the path the dog had taken.

She was annoyed; no, she was angry; no, she was absolutely furious!

That asshole, abuser, rapist had gotten clean away. She had already guessed that Tsunade would order the team to leave the pursuit and get the rescued girls to safety.

After so long he had slipped through her fingers. She kicked a rock in her path and winced in pain before letting loose a stream of obscenities. That was a lot deeper in the ground than she first realised.

Growling, she leant down and used her basic medical jutsu to relieve the pain a little; she had likely broken one of the small bones in her foot but she would have to get Sakura to fix it as she didn't have the knowledge to do it herself.

Amaya couldn't remember the last time she was this angry. She sighed inwardly. Kakashi was probably worried about her, most likely they all were: she hadn't been acting very stable recently as it was, but with Sakura, Kakashi, and Ino guessing who Yoru was, and Amaya's reaction to him, they probably thought she was going to snap.

That couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, she had been shocked into silence when she first recognised him. But his leering face had been haunting her every night since she began to get her memories back.

Amaya felt a bitterly cold wind gusting against the exposed skin of her face. She must be nearing the edge of the forest. Sure enough, within a few more steps the trees parted to reveal a huge clearing. The thigh-high grass was rustling in the wind. There were wildflowers Amaya didn't recognise interspersed throughout the entire field. Every time the wind blew it would pick up the delicate seeds in puffs of cotton form the wild flowers. It was almost like watching it snow from the ground when the wind picked up.

As she stepped slowly into the clear area, her nose picked up the very faint scent of the flowers. She walked towards the middle, her fingers trailing over the flower heads, the cotton candy like seeds catching on the rough calluses of her fingers. Amaya felt awed by the beauty surrounding her now.

It was still the middle of the night; the moon was full though, and was casting its soft light. She stopped and turned, the forest was a deep dark green ringing the field. In the moonlight the grass and flowers were a dark straw colour. As she watched, a strong gust dragged some more fluffy seeds up into the air. It spun them around almost looking like a funnel, reaching towards the turgid moon.

Amaya saw a quick flash of eyes in the tree line. The wind brought her a rough smell. Of meat and something animalistic, one of Kakashi's hounds then. The thought that he was actively giving her space made her smile, but the smile slipped away as soon as she looked away from the dog. Amaya didn't _want_ to be alone.

Throwing her cloak off her shoulders and onto the ground, she slowly sank down, bending her legs she brought her knees up and rested her chin on them, eyes trained skywards, drinking in the moons rays.

She thought back to all the times flashes of her rape came to her. Usually when she and Kakashi were beginning to be intimate. Something would trigger one memory and she would freeze in shock. She had also shied away from examining the memory of that night properly. But on seeing Yoru in the flesh and seeing him run away like a coward, something had snapped in her.

Amaya no longer felt fear. Every time she had probed those memories she had been overwhelmed by fear. It was so alien to her that she had started avoiding thoughts of that particular period in her life.

When the little girl had spoken about Yoru, and the man he had terrified so much that he clawed his own eyes out, she began to put some pieces together once she saw who he was. Now she freely prodded the memory with a detached coldness.

She remembered quite clearly feeling so exhausted she couldn't feel anything. Yet as soon as she had looked him in the eyes her stomach had clenched in gut-wrenching terror. Something she had never experienced before. She had always had some form of control over her emotions.

She had realised, when standing in the doorway staring at her tormentor, that she didn't feel terror. At least not for a good few seconds. It was so odd to feel burning anger and have it swept away like that; it made her mind detach itself and look at this from a different angle. Her mind stumbled across the answer.

He could control emotions. Well, he needed eye contact to do it. It was almost like a genjutsu and once she'd realised this she was able to dispel the effects. And then the bastard had disappeared before she was able to utilise the almost blind fury that had engulfed her.

Her vision had narrowed, becoming much sharper as she fully opened her kekkei genkai. The sharp smell of the quickly dissipating chakra filled her keen nostrils. And then Kakashi confirmed what she realised, he would still be some where close by.

But she still lost him, and now she was about to be asked to leave the chase.

It seemed the animal side of her, the one connected to her bloodline limit, hadn't fully receded. She felt her fingers digging into the cold dry soil on either side of her.

"Don't worry. We will be allowed to track him down again, and next time he won't get away."

A gravelly voice said beside her. She glanced down at the pug. She had heard his gentle panting breaths as he drew closer, so wasn't surprised he was there.

"He shouldn't have gotten away. If I hadn't frozen when we came face to face, he would either be captured or I would have already ripped his throat out with my teeth."

Pakkun looked curiously up at the female; her eyes were dark with promises. She seemed more animal like then regular humans, he thought. He wondered if she realised she was baring her teeth, or hunching her back and shoulders almost in a flight or fight position. He could definitely smell the aggressive pheromones, the ones that would normally stimulate her pack, if she had one, to fight.

"You can't blame yourself. Are you clairvoyant?"

Amaya looked at the small dog with a puzzled expression, "_Well that's better then the snarl she had on before,_" he thought to himself. "Can you see the future?"

Amaya shook her head.

"Then don't blame yourself, you didn't know who was there or what he would do. It's not your fault."

Amaya smiled slightly at the dog's logic. She liked how forthright the dog was.

"It was Pakkun right? I'm Migato Amaya. It's a pleasure to meet you"

Pakkun opened his mouth wide and let his tongue loll out. "_He is smiling,_" Amaya realised. The thought and sight of it brought out a grin of her own.

"The pleasure is mine, Migato-san."

"Iie. Just Amaya, please. I'm not old enough to be called Migato-san just yet."

She lay back against the grass staring up at the moon; her fingers found themselves gently scratching Pakkun behind the ears. She glanced out the corner of her eye to see an ecstatic look on his face.

Amaya gave a sound somewhere between a snort and a sigh. "Pakkun, can you tell Kakashi I wouldn't mind a bit of company. He is hovering round the edge of the field and it's stating to annoy me."

Pakkun gave her a solemn nod, before turning and totting off towards his master.

When Amaya felt Kakashi's chakra signature begin to move forwards she gave her own chakra a quick spike, letting him know where she was, as the grass was still above her head.

She heard the grass and flowers rustle as he came closer, then she could see his head over the top of the plants. Concern for her was strong in his eye, the only part of him she could see right now. The wind gusted, bringing her a snatch of Kakashi's scent: musky and warm, mixed with blood and sweat now. It made her feel safe again. Amaya felt something warm up in her chest as she gazed up at him. She tugged down her mask and gave him a gentle smile before patting the cloak on the ground, silently asking him to sit beside her.

He could feel her chakra in the centre of the field. It was calm. Stable. He was still worried though. She'd had quite a few ups and downs tonight already. All he wanted to do was go to her and wrap his arms round her and protect her from the world.

He didn't know what to do. She had just been confronted by the man who had violated her; who'd brutalized and used her and left her for dead. He couldn't even begin to comprehend what must be going through her head.

He remembered the way she had trembled at the mere sight of him when she first stepped into the room. It was totally contradicted by the way she had behaved after though.

Then Pakkun came jogging up to him.

"She has my seal of approval." The small dog dog-grinned at him. Kakashi smiled back,

"OK, I know she hasn't got treats on her right now, so I take it she was petting you."

The ninkin ginned again, his tail wagging furiously.

"She has a magic touch Kakashi. Oh and she told me to tell you that she could do with some company."

"Arigatou Pakkun." Kakashi said quietly as he stepped forward, his eyes scanning for his partner.

He didn't see the sly look his companion gave him before he trotted into the forest, leaving the two jounins with a little privacy.

He felt her chakra flare, which enabled him to pin point her direction. Kakashi reached her fairly quickly.

He simply looked at her. She was laying there on her cloak in the flattened grass, one arm behind her head. Her black hair spread like ink on the ground; the moonlight picked out the white streak in it, and made her skin seem paler than usual, contrasting sharply with her dark clothes. Her eyes were black, liquid, unreadable pools in this light. She lifted her free hand and lowered her mask, the one he had bought for her. That thought caused him to smile beneath his own.

And then she smiled. He had thought she was beautiful before, but that was until she gave him that small smile that was filled with something intangible; Kakashi felt nothing could be as beautiful as she was now.

When she invited him to join her properly he didn't need to be asked twice.

Kakashi lay on his side, his eyes slowing roaming, committing every last detail to memory. She still had blood spatter across part of her face, but in this light it was black against her almost white skin. He noted a new cut on her upper arm, though it wasn't deep and it had stopped bleeding a while ago. His eyes went lower; she had rolled onto her side to face him as well.

He drank in the sight of her curves: the soft dip of her waist before it flared gently to her hips, narrowing down to muscular thighs and endless legs. His eyes moved up quickly to perused her face, he felt a jolt when he realised she was watching him keenly.

"Your mask" She spoke so quietly that, if he hadn't seen her lips move, he wouldn't have been sure she had said anything. He pulled it down to pool round his neck.

He reached his hand across the 2 foot gap between them to caress her face. A rough thumb tracing the arch of her eyebrow down her cheek bone to the fuller curve of her bottom lip. Her eyes fluttered closed and she leaned into his touch.

As he smiled, happy that she seemed to be OK so far, her eyes snapped open. She stared, greedily taking in all his face, before her eyes slowly rose to meet his own again. One delicate hand came up to push the band covering his miss-matched eye up and off. Now his sharingan was exposed he could see more details.

He could now make out the slight smear of blood his thumb had dragged down her cheek. The light glinting off her eyes as well. Her hair was quite tousled too. He could still smell battle on her. Smoke and blood and sweat overlaying the smell of jasmine, which was her scent.

With this smell, her hair all mussed up, and that glint in her eyes she seemed feral. Dangerous, but utterly, irrevocably, attractive. Most people assumed it was only the kunoichis that were attracted to shinobi after battle - all bloody, chest heaving from the exertion. This was untrue; there was almost nothing more attractive to a male shinobi than a powerful kunoichi that was still high from battle lust.

She moved so quickly Kakashi didn't even see it happening. One second he was running his thumb over her lips, the next he was on his back with Amaya straddling his hips. The fire that was flaring in her eyes right now lit an answering one within him.

Amaya leaned down and her lips brushed his. She nipped at his chin as she leaned, her body weight shifting causing her to grind against him. Kakashi hissed in pleasure, he could feel himself harden against her. When she shifted again he almost groaned aloud, instead he grabbed her hips and pushed back against her. Kakashi smirked as she moaned quietly, her voice already thick with lust.

She lifted her head from tugging at his ear lobe. Amaya searched his face before pressing her lips against his again. He immediately teased her with his lips and tongue, having to bite down an amused chuckle at her pout. A devious look entered her eyes again, she ground down hard on him and when he hissed again she lowered her head and slid her tongue into his mouth.

Kakashi groaned as he copied her, sliding his tongue against hers. His self control was almost completely shot. On of his hands found itself tangled in her hair, he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, holding her tight against him. He felt the heat of her seep through his clothes. The hand on her hip loosened its grip and slid round her back, crushing her against him. A quick push and she was underneath him. Amaya squeaked in surprise, earning herself another devastating grin from Kakashi; those dimples caused her stomach to flip again. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Her hands wandered down underneath his shirt, goose bumps breaking out everywhere she touched him. Her warm fingers began playing with the waist band of his pants, before sliding round to the front to grasp his belt.

"Maya-chan, we should stop..." Kakashi could barely make the words comeout, but even as he said them he pressed himself harder against her core. She moaned louder this time, her head falling back. Kakashi felt the 'pop' of his belt being unfastened. His own hand was wandering up under her shirt, grazing the bottom curve of her breasts, Amaya arched her back into his touch, her own hands slid up to grip his waist in a death grip.

"No," She whispered. Her eyes found his again. Hooded and glazed over with lust, Kakashi knew his own eyes looked like hers right now too.

"There is no reason for us to stop Kashi-kun," She leaned up to lick his bottom lip. When he tried to kiss her back she moved her head, making him chase her until he pinned her head down.

Kakashi kissed her as deeply as he could until he made her writhe and moan. He sat up to admire his work: Amaya's hair was even more messed up, her lips were damp and slightly swollen; he felt his penis twitch at the sight. His hand slid further under her top, finding a nipple he tweaked it making Amaya gasp loudly, her eyes going wide. Until he leaned down and kissed her hard. Rubbing his thumb over the hard little peak, Kakashi lowered his head and caught its twin through the material of her top.

Amaya gave a throaty cry, grabbing Kakashi's hair and holding him tight. She released his hair quickly when he stopped biting her nipples and began swirling lazy circles round them instead, soaking though the thin material and causing her to shudder with pleasure. Her hands flew down to his pants again, she got the button undone and the zip all the way down and was tugging impatiently at them when Kakashi felt the lusty haze lift a little again.

He swallowed. "Maya-chan, we really should stop. I don't want you to regret this."

Amaya growled loudly at him."You are not going to torment me again Kakashi."

She gave his pants another sharp tug down and his engorged penis sprung out. The cold air around him caused him to grimace in shock, until she pressed herself against him again. Kakashi groaned as he rubbed against her clothed heat. "_Clothed? Hang on__,__ she is still fully dressed._"

Kakashi's lust befuddled brain was only half working as he realised she had gotten much further with undressing him than he with her, the hand that was teasing her stiff nipple slid down suddenly. Under her skirt, he pressed his thumb against her covered clit, making Amaya cry out and buck against him. It was taking every ounce of self control to not grab a kunai and get rid of the annoying shorts.

He swept slow, maddening, circles around her swollen clit. Amaya was squirming underneath him, panting loudly until Kakashi bit her nipple though her top again, earning him another loud cry. He swapped sides to its neglected twin, she was nearly sobbing with pleasure. All her little cries and mewls were driving Kakashi insane. He pulled his other arm from around her waist, lifting her top up he was confronted with her mesh top and chest bindings. The thought of a kunai flashed though his head again.

He growled as he slipped his hand under the mesh, and carefully pulled the wraps apart, exposing her to the cold night air. Kakashi swallowed heavily at the sight, his fingers twitched before tightening on her peaks. As he withdrew his hand he lowered his head again to worry her nipples though the see through mesh she was still wearing.

He pressed his thumb firmly against her again, the fingers of that hand creeping up to the waistband of her shorts. His other hand joined it soon and together they inched over the edge of her shorts, sliding them down. The musky smell of her hit his keen senses, his mind went into overdrive. It took every last ounce of self control he had left to not try to plunge himself straight in. Sweet Kami, he wanted her! He wanted her so badly it physically hurt.

Unhooking her legs from behind him, Amaya allowed him to remove one leg of her shorts and then the other side. She couldn't think straight at all. All that was going though her head was the way he was making her feel. The heat had built up into a raging inferno that began in the pit of her stomach and her crotch and had spread out. When he was teasing her nipples it sent jolts of lightning down her spine, and when he pressed against her aching core with his thumb Amaya's vision turned white. She was so close; he had no idea what he was doing to her.

Amaya felt that primal animal side of her start to take over again as he removed her shorts completely. The contrast between Kakashi's warm flesh and touches and the freezing air surrounding them was delightful. Her legs trembled but whether it was from cold or pleasure neither could tell. The head of his penis bumped against her, Amaya gave a choked gasp and pressed hard against him. She felt his thumb's movements around her most sensitive areas falter as he moaned loudly.

He gripped her clit firmly between his thumb and forefinger before sliding a finger down.

"Shit." He swore quietly, she was so hot, so wet. Kakashi, agonisingly slowly, pushed one finger into her. Her reaction was almost immediate, her eyes flew open, and her mouth parted in heavy pants as her hips undulated towards the slow intrusion. The movement pushed him further in. Her muscles clamped down on his finger, almost pulling it deeper inside.

He began sliding his finger in and out, Amaya's moans increasing in frequency as her hips rose to meet his hand. Arching her back she grabbed his rear and pulled him towards her. Kakashi bit back a loud groan as he rubbed against her again. He was struggling to control himself still until she whimpered his name.

"k... kashi..." Amaya bit her lip as he removed his fingers to rub her swollen clit again. She couldn't take much more.

"Maya, tell me you want it," His voice was laced with lust, as thick as melted chocolate. Amaya shivered as his hot breath fanned across the sensitive skin on her chest. He lifted his head to look at her. Amaya's eyes were clouded and dark, the hooded lids giving her a totally exotic, erotic look. He moved up her body again to capture her lips with his. Dipping his tongue into her hot, sweet mouth.

Amaya pushed harder against him again, the head of him pressing against her entrance, she whimpered again with need.

"I need you to tell me Maya," His gravelly voice was doing surprising things to her. Every time he spoke she felt a delicious shudder begin in her chest and travel down. She was tying to speak between pants. Her mind almost too far gone for coherent thoughts.

"Please... stop teasing... Kashi..."

"Tell me," he growled in her ear. He bit her neck before soothing the reddened skin with a swipe of his tongue. She gyrated her hips instead of answering him, hoping her body language would be enough because she could barely talk. He slipped in; the pure heat of her almost undid him there and then. With a grunt and some genuine effort he pulled back.

"Maya, I need to hear you tell me this is OK."

At his words a small amount of understanding came to her. She suddenly realise he wanted to know she wasn't being influenced, that she actually wanted _him_. Amaya opened her eyes and pulled her head back a little to catch his eyes.

"I... want... you Kashi." She slipped a hand between them, and grasping him firmly guided him towards her centre. "I want you _now_."

There was no way he could misconstrue what she was demanding now. Kakashi placed his arms either side of her head, pinning her in slightly before he settled his weight down and pushed forward.

He gave a strangled groan; she was so hot, and tight. Amaya's legs tightened around his hips again drawing him in deeper. He slowly pulled back, then in again a bit harder, making Amaya cry out and arch up towards him again. Encouraged, he repeated it as he leaned down to kiss her. As soon as his lips met hers she kissed him back furiously. He could feel his control slipping even quicker. Her fingernails were raking red tracks down the muscles of his back.

He dragged his arm down to wrap around her waist. Using it as leverage, he lifted her into a new angle and thrust hard, hitting a spot that made her head fall back.

He quickly found her neck, kissing, licking, biting all the way up to swallow her moans as he sped up the pace a little. With one deep thrust he ground against her.

"Nnnnh... shit Kakashi..." she clenched her eyes shut against the intense pleasure. Arching her back, she pressed her hips and breasts into him as hard as she could. He pulled almost all the way out before slamming into her again with a hard grind at the end. He could feel her muscles contract. He slid both his hands round her rear, lifting her and sitting up at the same time so she was straddling his lap. Kakashi lifted her off the ground slightly, him kneeling and taking all her weight. He pulled her back down onto him.

Amaya's head fell forward and she bit down on his neck to keep from crying out loudly. She tightened her legs' grip around his waist, and began using her thighs to help with his thrusts, meeting his each time, making them deeper and harder. Their breath came out in pants and gasps, interspersed with small moans, groans and cries of pleasure. Amaya could feel the heat building to white hot below her stomach, getting tighter and harder.

She growled as she pushed Kakashi back onto the grass. His warm hands explored her fully, smoothing over her waist, cupping her breasts through her bindings and mesh top. He tweaked her nipples again. She threw back her head and moaned. She felt wanton, the heat pooling in her stomach threatened to overflow when he lifted his hips to meet hers.

Amaya opened her eyes to look at him and was nearly sent over the edge at the sight before her: Kakashi's lips were parted as he panted; his eyes were roaming her body taking in everything they could; his hair was messed up, even more than usual; and his top had ridden up, giving her a flash of sculpted abs. She slipped her slender fingers under his jounin top, dragging her nails over his skin and enjoying the way he shuddered and his eyes began to roll back. She reached a flat nipple. She pinched it lightly, Kakashi groaned, his eyes snapping up to hers.

Amaya felt the breath catch in the back of her throat. His sharingan was slowly spinning, he was memorising this. Every movement, every breath, gasp and moan, and Amaya found it an even bigger turn on.

"Oh Kami."

Kakashi moved his hand down, back between them. Tightening his other arm around her waist, as he thrust up he pinched her clit. Amaya gave a guttural, feral groan and pushed herself down hard on him. He did it again and Amaya began to see stars. Kakashi sat up to kiss her hard, every time he thrust up he pushed his tongue into her mouth, and squeezed her sensitive pearl. It was all too much for her. Amaya came hard, her inner muscles clamping down hard on Kakashi. He lost his control too; grabbing her hips roughly, he slammed into her.

Kakashi felt her ripple around him again. The sound of sweat soaked skin slapping skin began to fill the air, along with their animal moans and grunts. Kakashi leaned over her; she dug her nails into his shoulders as she reached her peak for a second time. He gave a few more short, almost violent, thrusts as he felt everything tighten and then empty deep into her.

As Amaya's vision faded from white and the tingles in her fingers and toes subsided a little, she felt Kakashi lay her gently back against the ground again. She ran her hands up and down his back, his muscles twitched and shivered under her light touch. He was leaning on his elbows, forehead against the ground, hot moist pants over her neck and shoulder. Amaya tried to control her breathing too.

She turned her head to nuzzle into his damp neck. Amaya wanted nothing more than to lose herself in this man here with her now. She tightened her legs around him again, her fingers gripping his shoulders pulling him flush against her. She tried to stretch her back, feeling languid and sated.

"Wow." Kakashi's rough voice sent ripples of shivers down her spine again. He lifted his head slightly to look at her out of the side of his eye before turning and kissing her lazily and messily. He rolled, pulling Amaya with him so she was curled up against his side and chest. He reached over to grasp the edge of her cloak they were laying on again and pulled it over her to keep her warm.

Kakashi gave her a lingering kiss on the top of her head, inhaling deeply. Her scent was mingled with the blood and sweat from earlier, but mixed in now was the smell of sex. Heady and strong, of semen and musk and fresh sweat. It was intoxicating.

"Are you OK?" he asked her quietly, cupping Amaya's cheek with his large hand he lifted her face to look at him. Amaya could only nod. She leaned up to kiss him, and tried to convey everything she felt right now in that one kiss. It may not have been perfect, but it had felt right. She would have preferred her first time with him to be somewhere a bit warmer and, well, private.

As that thought filtered into her mind she could have sworn she heard howling. She knew she hadn't imagined it when Kakashi's head lifted up.

"That's Pakkun. He is warning us someone is heading our way." With that, they both got dressed quickly and quietly. Kakashi glanced over to Amaya who was crouched low in the grass, her mask back in place looking intently at the direction of the intruder when Pakkun burst from the grass.

"Yo. I thought I should give you some warning Kakashi."

If the dog could give sly looks, Kakashi swore he would be doing so now. He knew that if he could smell the sex on the air then to the pug he was swimming in it.

"Your cute student will be here in a minute."

"Arigatou Pakkun." Kakashi heaved a sigh before standing up and spotting Sakura not too far from them. She had obviously been searching for them.

"Yo." He gave her a small wave and an eye crinkle.

"Kaka-sensei, we are preparing to leave. Do you know where Amaya-chan is?"

Amaya stood up and gave her medic friend an embarrassed smile.

"Gomen, Sakura-chan. We are ready to leave whenever you are."

She started walking forward to reach the normally pink haired jounin. With one hand she tuned and guided Sakura away from the spot where she and Kakashi had been tumbling about. Kakashi couldn't shake the languid, sleek feel that was coursing through his body right now. All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

He called over Pakkun as he began to follow the two females. "Pakkun, can you get Bisuke? I need you to track behind us. Make sure we aren't being followed and try to hide our tracks as much as you can. Bisuke can track ahead and make sure there are no ambushes."

Pakkun gave a sharp 'hai' before turning in search of his pack mate. Kakashi caught up with his female team mates and they took off, soon reaching the farm house again. Genma was waiting outside for them. He took one look at them and began catcalling at Kakashi. Sakura swatted her caramel haired partner across the back of his head.

"Hey!" He rubbed his abused skull. "What was that for?"

"You know damn well."

Genma simply smirked at her.

Amaya gave him a quick glare before she walked past him and he dropped back to fall in line with Kakashi.

"So..." He looked expectantly. Kakashi deadpanned him.

"Oh come on, you can't do this! I know what you guys were doing, so come on, spill. I want all the details."

Kakashi turned a withering stare on the senbon sucking man. He had his hands linked behind his head, totally oblivious to his surroundings as he kept up his running commentary, adding his own thoughts about Amaya until Kakashi turned, and in a cold voice told him that he wasn't allowed to speak about her in that manner again. Genma backed off with his hands up in a placating manner.

"Gomen Kakashi, you know I didn't mean anything by it."

He grinned at his stoic friend before tuning to face the farmhouse again. The women were being lead out by Sakura. The small 12 year old was clinging to her leg in terror. Amaya went over and said a couple of quiet words to her and the shivering child slowly peeled herself away from the medics leg, allowing her to walk normally again.

Maya lead the girl round to one of the older women who promptly took the girl's hand and held her close.

"Well Kaka-sensei. We are all healed up and ready to go on your orders"

Kakashi nodded towards Sakura.

"OK. Pakkun is tracking behind us, Bisuke is ahead, the other dogs will spread out automatically and protect or warn us. Everyone stick together and don't worry, we are bringing you home to your families."

He turned around, "Let's move out."

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**A/N** Um... so.. yeeeeaaaaah my very first lemons lolz I would of done one sooner but it was surprsingly hard to write without is being total smut, I know i'm a pervert I dont need you guys all knowing too so a fair bit got cut out in the final drafts :P

thanks to my beta Againstnormal and my proof readers Pazzy Neechan and Bry, and mahoosive thanks to you guys my readers (2,047 hits to date) ^_^~3

please though all constructive crits are welcome, as long is it is infomative, not just 'I didn't like this' and no explenation why you didn't.

The next chapter is the last in this arc by the way. I am working on an epilogue too, but thats it for a few months I think. remember Amaya has a few... um... 'loose ends' to tie up still, plus there may be some surprises in store too ;) (you may need to add me to author alert, then when I add the new arc you will get an email telling you)

Well I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far and heres a small preveiw of next weeks chappie,

have a great week and weekend guys ^_^

~Rys~

~Chapter 17 Preview~

_She smiled secretly as she spotted him stalking through the crowds._

_Kakashi looked like a drowned cat and the sulk on his face was glaringly obvious, "_so he doesn't like to get wet huh?_" _

_The rain had flattened his hair to his head, water dipping off the ends, his clothes were starting to soak through too clinging to his form like a second skin, his hands shoved into his pockets as far as they would go._


	18. Chapter 17, Ties and Bonds

**Chapter 17, Ties and Bonds**

Kakashi couldn't shake the languid sleek feeling that was coursing through his body right now. All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep, preferably as close to Amaya as he could get. Glancing over at his partner's face, he assumed she felt the same; he knew she would probably want a shower soon as well, considering how they both smelt of blood and sex.

Sakura, blessedly, didn't ask what they had been doing but it would have been glaringly obvious, and though it was very dark, Kakashi was almost positive he could see a blush on his young ex-student's face.

By the time they had reached the farmhouse Sakura had brought them up to speed. They had found the Daimyo's daughter amongst the other girls. These girls were a mixture of different walks of life: some were young girls, kidnapped from out laying villages; a few were older women that had been stolen from the night clubs in the larger cities; and a couple were actually seasoned prostitutes who were 'doing as they were told' apparently.

Kakashi was just quietly grateful when Sakura said that even though they had all been healed, they still needed rest for the night. He agreed instantly, saying that they should all get some sleep and leave for the safe house first thing in the morning. Ino and Sai offered to take first watch, to which Kakashi accepted cheerfully.

One of the girls showed him the basement where they had been quartered when the clients weren't around. It had been converted into three large rooms: two were the actual living quarters, there were dirty mattresses shoved against the wall, accompanied by a strong smell that told him just how long some of the girls had been there. The last room was a communal bathroom, with a few showers and some toilets and sinks.

Kakashi smiled at his guide and asked her to fetch Amaya, she would probably want a shower more then he did.

Five minutes later he could feel Amaya's chakra outside the bathroom area. It hadn't moved by the time he finished showering and towelled off.

"Maya-chan?" Kakashi poked his head out the doorway to find Amaya staring into the living quarters.

"This is where they have been living? These poor girls? And we still let that bastard get away."

Amaya punched the wall angrily, she felt sick that these women had suffered the way they had. She was glad they had killed all the males they had found though, because if they hadn't there wasn't much in this world that would have stopped her slitting their throats now.

Kakashi walked over, wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What matters Maya-chan is they are safe _now_. And we _will_ get that guy too."

Amaya leaned her head against his. "You're right Kashi-kun," she turned in his arms to face him and nuzzled him, "I can't wait for this mission to end and we are all back home" She mumbled this last into his neck.

"Well Maya-chan, why don't you go for a quick shower, I will set up a bed of some sort for us and we can get a little sleep. I'm sure you're drained after everything tonight."

He kissed the top of her head before turning her towards the showers and giving her a gentle push.

"Kashi-kun," She turned at the door, "Arigato."

Kakashi smiled gently at her back before climbing back up stairs to find she had already set up a bed for the two of them.

He was starting to drop off when he felt her slip under the blanket with him. Lazily wrapping an arm round her waist and pulling her into his chest, Kakashi took a deep breath savouring the scent of the woman in his arms before drifting of into a deep, dreamless and satisfied sleep.

Once the women had been dropped off at the safe house, the team then had the responsibility to take the daimyo's daughter back to her parental home. The young woman seemed to cleave to Sakura, who in turn seemed extremely concerned for her young charge.

She had told the group her name was Kaede.

Young Kaede was a surprise; though she was as close to royalty as you could get, she wasn't that spoilt. She was a quietly intelligent, thoughtful girl. It turned out that she had been sneaking out of the palace to meet up with some of the household maids she had befriended over the years, and they had been going out and living like normal girls their age would.

She was a pretty thing, Amaya thought, once she had been cleaned up. With smooth pale skin and perfect, almond shaped eyes that were almost black in colour. Her hair was the same: almost black, it was poker straight and so long that it grazed the back of her knees when it was clean and bushed. All in all, if it wasn't for the rags she was wearing there was no way you could mistake her for anything other than the princess she was.

Her father, having gotten a report that the Konoha nins had successfully rescued her, was waiting for them at the gates of the Daimyo palace. They ran to each other crying and laughing, it was a touching scene seeing father and daughter reunited.

The Daimyo was delighted that not only had they saved his precious Kaede, but they had healed her and Sakura had already started mild trauma therapy. In all honesty he had been very worried, especially after he heard all the rumours about a prostitute ring. He had fully expected Kaede to return, all bloody, raped and barely able to walk, let alone talk, and yet here was his daughter. Sure, her eyes didn't sparkle quite like they used to, but with a little help he was confident that happy gleam would return.

Kakashi and the rest of his team turned down the generous offer of some luxury accommodation for the night, explaining that they all just wanted to go home as soon as possible. The Daimyo nodded his understanding and gave them his blessing and thanks, he had already sent a bird to the Godaime, telling her of the happy outcome.

With that they left the palace grounds and the city and headed south, back to Konoha.

It had taken several days but finally here they were: standing, backs poker straight, in the Hokage's office just waiting to be debriefed and sent off.

Tsunade hummed as she looked over the report in her hands. Frowning slightly the Hokage slowly lowered the piece of paper and lifted her amber eyes to the waiting shinobi.

"Well, it seems you all successfully completed the mission laid out, The Daimyo sent word that his daughter had been rescued along with all the other women that were kidnapped. He also decided to tell us that the girls who had no homes to go to have all been given work as staff of his daughter."

Sakura and Ino beamed happily at this, truth be told, they had been a little worried that once their work was done the girls would be forgotten about.

"However," She continued. "Kakashi, Amaya, I am very disappointed in you both, I know your cover was three couples, but I still expect you to show some level of decorum as befits a shinobi of Konoha."

Her voice had begun to rise in anger. Amaya swore she could see a vein throbbing in her forehead.

"But... as the Daimyo said in his letter, you did complete the mission, and very successfully. I expect neither of you to have such a lapse in judgement again while on a mission, or at the very least, show some discretion."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, "You are all relieved of duty for 2 weeks. Shizune will set out your pay and have it sent to you. Take this time to rest up. Dismissed"

That had been a few days ago. Amaya sat in one of Konoha's teahouses, sipping from the warm cup cradled in her hands. She had a perfect view of the street in front of the shop. Watching the people rush past, with umbrellas and hoods pulled tightly over their heads as the cold winter rains lashed down.

It was quiet here; that was one of the reasons she came here. She could sit in the quiet and think. When they had been relieved everyone had split up into their respective couples and, after promising to meet for the usual 'after mission' drinks, they headed their own way.

Kakashi pulled out a small scroll that the Hokage had passed to him when everyone else had left the office, as usual he preferred to walk behind everyone, and she took the opportunity to slip the scroll into his hand.

They had read it together as it was addressed to them both. Inside were new instructions: they were now free to live as they pleased, which meant Kakashi could go back to his neglected apartment. They were to continue training together as often as they could though. The Hokage was pleased with their progress as working partners. Kakashi felt sure she would have a few things to add now she knew that they were a couple.

He and Amaya both agreed that he would move his stuff back to his place. He would come to her house after his morning visit to the KIA Monument, and until dinner time they would be training and working as official partners. After dinner though, they had decided would be their time as normal people; they could spend time as a couple or, if they really felt like it, spend time by themselves.

All in all it was a comfortable situation for the two of them.

Amaya lifted the rapidly cooling tea to her lips again. It was still early morning, but she couldn't sleep. Who would have thought she would have gotten so used to having company? But it felt strange trying to sleep at night without feeling at least one familiar chakra near her.

Amaya had spoken to the Hokage about that yesterday; Tsunade was under the impression that even though Amaya was facing her past, subconsciously, she was afraid to be alone. This was a normal reaction; Amaya's reaction had been extreme before. The Hokage was pleased, as it meant Amaya was finally beginning to recover fully and she felt that pretty soon she could expect to hear that Amaya was flat searching within the village, instead of her self imposed solitary confinement outside the gates.

A familiar flare of chakra caused her to lift her head and scan the shifting crowds in front of her. It wasn't that she had taken to stalking Kakashi in the mornings; she couldn't sleep, so she came to the teahouse to relax and think. Kakashi's apartment was a couple of roads up and his path to the Monument took him past the shop she was currently in.

She smiled secretly as she spotted him stalking through the crowds, Kakashi looked like a drowned cat and the sulk on his face was glaringly obvious. "_So, he doesn't like to get wet huh?"_ The rain had flattened his hair to his head, water dipping off the ends, his clothes were starting to soak through too, clinging to his form like a second skin, and his hands were shoved into his pockets as far as they would go.

Though Amaya hadn't spoken to him about her morning excursions, she was sure he knew she was there. However, not once did he stop to speak to her, nor mention it when they met up later. As Amaya watched him trudged through puddles, she decided what she was going to do with her morning.

Standing up, she set some money down on the table before shrugging on her waterproof cloak and walking into the freezing rain.

Kakashi was telling Obito about the last mission when he felt it, the faint brush of chakra against his own,"_but why is she here?_" he thought to himself. Kakashi turned slightly to see Amaya striding confidently towards him despite the pouring rain.

He smiled to himself. Did she realise just how much she had changed over the last few months? Yes, she had been confident before but now it felt that she was actually sure of herself; before she would have still kept her head down and tried to avoid attention, now she didn't seem to care if she attracted it.

"Maya-chan, what are you doing here?"

"Gomen Kashi-kun, I thought you could use some company, something warm to eat, and an umbrella. I'm sorry if I'm intruding on you, I will just leave this stuff with you and go."

Amaya placed a bento box and an umbrella down on the ground next to him before ducking her head and turning away. Kakashi chuckled to himself, she may have appeared confident but her actions told him that most of it was a façade.

Amaya squealed as, in a blur, Kakashi appeared in front of her. She would have reeled backwards except he already had his arms round her pulling her closer to him. Amaya gave in immediately and allowed him to clasp her tightly. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat that was soothing to her. Very aware of the fact that they were both being soaked by the relentless rain, she said "Kashi-kun, the umbrella, you're going to end up with a cold if you don't get out of the rain soon."

"Hai Maya-chan. I have something I need to do first though." He carefully turned her round and walked them both back to the monument.

"Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei, this is the girl I told you guys about. This is Amaya."

Amaya felt a little uncomfortable, though she knew this was important for him she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, was she expected to speak to the stone as well? Did Kakashi imagine he heard his old genin teams voices?

"Kashi! I'm a bit too old to be called a girl now" she admonished gently. She gave him a playful punch to the arm and bent down to grab the umbrella to shield them both from the rain. Kakashi continued to speak to his friends and sensei so Amaya stood with her arm around his waist, just listening quietly.

He talked about the end of the mission, about the man they were going to stat hunting and asked for their help, if they could that was. He told them how he missed them and he wished things could have been different, he asked Obito if he was still enjoying the sights and promised he would take his gift to view some place new soon.

Kakashi finally turned to Amaya, "There is one more place I need to go, will you come with me?"

"Of course Kashi-kun," Amaya smiled up at him before picking up the bento box which was lying at their feet by now. Kakashi linked arms with her and led her away, back towards Konoha.

He led them a long and twisted way, eventually they were almost in the shadow of the first Hokage and standing in front of a traditional house.

"Welcome to my family home Amaya." Kakashi gently steered her towards the front door.

Kakashi opened the door and while removing his shoes called out,

"Ohayo Sora-sama! Is anyone home?"

A frail looking older woman appeared from around the corner.

"Ooooh? Young Hatake-sama is it?"

Kakashi laughed, "Now now Sora, we had a deal, remember? You were to call me Kakashi not Hatake-sama; you're making me feel older than the Hokage mountain."

"And so we did, but your end of the deal was to not call me Sora-sama, I am your housekeeper and it's not appropriate for you to call me that."

They both began laughing at each other; Amaya could almost feel the ease that these two felt with each other.

"Oooh? And who is this? Has the young master brought home a lady at last?"

Amaya blushed at the attention.

"Ohayo, I am Migato Amaya." She affected a bow towards the elderly woman.

"Oh, not you too! I'm simply Sora. I've been the Hatake housekeeper even before this young one was born." She gestured towards Kakashi, who chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Amaya's eyes lit up, "So you knew him as a boy? What was he like?"

Sora grinned darkly, "Oh the stories I could tell you young lady..."

"But none for today ne?" Kakashi interrupted her with a smile. "I was hoping to speak with the Old Man Sora-chan."

"But of course! " Sora gave another creaky smile before beckoning Amaya further into the house. "I take it the young miss is coming with you?" Kakashi nodded, "I will make myself scarce then" she smiled one more time before tuning and walking slowly away.

When Amaya looked back she realised they were standing in front of a crypt, and Kakashi was standing with his hand outstretched, waiting for her.

"Come on, I would like you to meet my dad."

Amaya took his hand and the two of them walked out of the rain and down into the crypt.

Amaya felt like she was walking on air for the next week or two, she still couldn't get her head around the fact that Kakashi, yes _Kakashi_, liked her as in_ 'like'_ liked her.

After he had taken her to the Hatake clan house they had rarely been apart. Tsunade had sent them on two missions separately, but both lasted only a couple of hours, and they had one together, tracking and neutralizing a minor threat to Konoha security.

Every night they stayed with each other, whether it was at Amaya's or Kakashi's depended on what they were doing before hand. She had never felt this strongly about a guy before. It was exhilarating and scary as hell all at the same time.

Tsunade had been wrong about one thing, Amaya thought smugly; she wouldn't be looking for a new place to live, as both liked the privacy and solitude her woodland house afforded them. Plus they didn't have to worry about disturbing any neighbours like they had at his apartment. Amaya sniggered as she remembered the traumatized look on his elderly neighbour's face when she politely asked that 'Hatake-san and Migato-san kindly learn how to use sound proofing jutsus'. Kakashi laughed sheepishly while promising to not disturb her again. Amaya bit the inside of her cheek, she knew if she tried to say anything she would burst out laughing.

She was getting ready to go out in an hour, Kakashi's team were all home for once and had decided to go to for a meal and drinks to catch up. They had invited Amaya along again, probably more to interrogate the two of them than for any other reason.

She pulled on some long, dark red pants and a black t-shirt, "_nothing too fancy_" Amaya thought. After she had brushed through her midnight black hair she tied the headband across her forehead, pulled on her boots and she was ready to go.

She walked through to the front room to relax for a little while before meeting everyone else.

"Yo!"

Amaya jumped. "_Damn him_. _Does he think it's funny to scare me all the time_" She thought. There was Kakashi, lounging on her sofa. For a brief second she wondered how he managed to beak in without her knowing. She would have to grill him on it later but just now she was a little preoccupied.

Maya flipped over the back of the sofa and landed in Kakashi's lap.

"Oof! Maya-chan, a simple 'hello' would have done." Kakashi tried to playfully admonish. She answered with an equally teasing telling off,

"And a simple knock on the door would have sufficed, Kashi-kun. Breaking and entering, especially into a lady's house..."

"A lady? There is a lady here? Where?"

Kakashi easily defended against Amaya's mock attack before twisting and pinning her to the sofa below him.

"Maa maa Maya-chan. There is no need to beat up your loving boyfriend, especially not since he has come to escort you to the restaurant tonight like a true knight in shining armour."

Amaya snorted, "And do you normally go around pinning girls to sofas when you're being gallant?"

Kakashi leaned down so close she could feel his breath fanning across her lips.

"Only when they are as pretty as you." He whispered, before grazing his lips across hers.

Amaya felt her breath catch in the back of her throat, this might not be the first time they had kissed but it felt new and amazing every single time. She wriggled, trying to get him to free her hands while she wrapped a leg around his hips pulling him closer.

He chuckled against her mouth, the sound reverberating across her lips making them tingle.

"My my you're eager Maya-hime, but you do realise we are going to be late?"

"Nani? Iie, we have an hour left at least."

Kakashi laughed this time.

"I really think you are picking up my bad habits; we are supposed to be meeting everyone at 6, its 5:50 now."

Amaya craned her neck to try and glimpse her wall clock, it said 5:03.

"Kuso! My clock has stopped then. Kakashi let me go!"

Kakashi only smirked before kissing her roughly. She was sure she was going to actually melt one of these days. It was another 5 minutes before Kakashi released her again. Amaya was panting heavily when she felt him let go of her wrists, with a growl she lunged at her tormentor.

"Maya-chan, now we really will be late if you don't stop..."

Amaya silenced him with her mouth. She would teach him to tease her like that. She waited until she felt him earnestly responding back to her tongue, lips, and moans, before performing a couple of seals behind his back and disappearing in a small cloud of smoke and some jasmine petals.

He reached out and sensed her chakra, just on the other side of the front door. He stood, stalked over and swung the door open before grabbing her and slamming her against the wall.

He was kissing her hard before she had the chance to protest; his mouth trailing hot kisses down her neck while his hands roamed underneath her black top.

"nnhn, Kashi! We have to stop, we have to go."

"No!" He grabbed her hips and lifted her, pressing his body against hers, pinning her to the doorframe.

"We don't have to go do anything."

Amaya grabbed his hair as one hand found an already stiffening nipple and rolled it between a thumb and finger.

"Urgh... Kami... Kashi we do have to stop. You know if we are too late Sakura will be sent to find us, and what if she sees us?" She couldn't stop herself arching into his touch, her breath coming out in sharp gasps. She felt Kakashi growl against her throat, and his hands slowly released her hips down to the ground.

With hands planted either side of her head, Kakashi pressed his forehead against hers, he tried to calm his racing heat and lungs.

"Do you have any idea what you do to me Maya-chan?"

Amaya felt herself blush with pleasure at his words.

"I have a rough idea." She said with a giggle as she looked pointedly down at his straining pants.

Once both their breathing had returned to normal Maya and Kakashi locked the house up and left for the meeting place.

They arrived only 10 minutes late, Sakura was there with Genma. Honestly, Amaya was surprised she and Genma had lasted this long, he was a notorious playboy and Sakura... well Sakura like to keep her liaisons to herself normally. Sai was there, with Ino draped across him a like a blonde scarf. Tenzo was there by himself, Amaya thought with a twinge, but then again the man was basically married to his job. And Naruto was there with Hinata.

"Oy! Kaka-sensei! Sakura-chan told me you were bringing your new girlfriend!" Naruto nearly screamed as soon as they spotted them all. "Hi Amaya-chan! How are you?" Naruto craned his neck to peer into the gathering darkness behind Kakashi and Amaya, they both turned to see what he was looking at with confusion written all over their faces.

"Well? Where is she?"

Kakashi glanced at Amaya before wrapping his arm round her shoulders and pulling her closer to him.

"Let's go eat everyone." He walked past a confused looking Naruto, greeting everyone else before…

"**Eeeh**! Kaka-sensei! Are you and Amaya-chan...? Oooh! I knew it! I knew Baa-chan wouldn't have made you guys work together like that for such a stupid reason."

Sakura smacked him on the top of the head before snarling.

"Baka! If you have nothing clever to say then say nothing."

"Ano... Sakura-chan? I didn't know." Naruto looked thoroughly miserable as he rubbed the forming lump on his head.

Sakura sighed before healing his sore head and pulling him towards the restaurant, "I know Naruto." She said kindly.

She smiled as they came through the doors and saw everyone close to her sitting at their table. Kakashi and Amaya were speaking to Genma and Ino but were still throwing each other looks. Hinata was smiling quietly and speaking politely to everyone. Sai was actually sketching. Genma looked up and spotted them; he smiled widely at Sakura and waved them to come over and sit down.

Amaya looked up as everyone was laughing at something Genma had said. She looked at her friends, the bonds and ties she had made since being saved from death by a pink haired kunoichi, and for the first time in a long time she felt truly contented.

~oO*Oo~

**~Glossary~**

**San/Sama/Sempei ~ Terms of respect**

**Kun/Chan ~ Terms of affection**

**Hime ~ Princess**

**Ano ~ A questioning sound like 'Um'**

**Gomen ~ Sorry**

**Arigatou ~ Thank you**

**Hai ~ Yes**

**Iie ~ No**

**Kunouchi ~ Female ninja**

**Bento Box ~ a lunch box  
**

**A/N~** So um yeah. this is the last Chapter fo this arc, and yes im vey disapointed in myself too. I did NOT like this chapter in fact I scrapped it 6 times and rewrote it from scratch, I HATED it

I still DO hate it, I think its jumpy with no organic flow, and it just bugs me, *cries*

but my beta didn't think its was rape-your-eyes awful, and my beta readers seemed to enjoy it :S heh heh thats my thanks to them BTW ;)

Momokobo thank you again for the great review! its nice to know I'm not the only closet pervert out there ;)

Thank you to ALL my readers! this is my FIRST fan fic, I've not written anything other the some crappy dark poetry before, so Im absolutely stunned at how many hits and visitors I've had.

I will be writing an epilogue for this though, which will hopefully give some hints to the second arc which I will start in a couple months time. I hope this time round I will be more organised, I will actually write out my plot line and maybe I will have some more control over the flow of my story.

I will also be trying to sort out my Sakura fic, I would LOVE to collaborate with someone, so if anyone has a good plot bunny chewing their toes, but doesnt know how to flesh it out into a decent story send me a PM and we will see if I can help you ^_^

No preveiw this week as its the last chapter,

And again, thank you ALL, you guys have given me back a bit of self confidence I didn't even realise I had lost :)

~Rys~


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